Administer Windows 2000/2003 Domain from Windows XP

Daniel Petri

Jan 7, 2009

How can I administer Windows 2000/2003-based computers using Windows XP Professional-based clients?
This article describes how to use the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools package on Windows XP Professional or how to use the Windows Server 2003 family to remotely administer Microsoft Windows 2000 Server family-based and Windows Server 2003 family-based computers. The following topics are discussed in this article:

How to remotely administer computers that are running Windows 2000 Server family products or Windows Server 2003 family products from Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP-based clients that are using the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of the Adminpak.msi file from the Windows Server 2003 media.
How to download the RTM version of the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack from the Microsoft Web site.
Known issues that may occur when you use Administration tools from the Windows Server 2003 Adminpak.msi file to manage Windows 2000-based and Windows Server 2003-based computers.
Compatibility issues that occur when Windows 2000 Professional-based computers that have Windows 2000 Administration tools installed are upgraded to Windows XP.
Compatibility issues that occur when Windows 2000 domain controllers are upgraded to Windows Server 2003 domain controllers
Other procedures to remotely administer Windows-based servers.

Note: You might also want to read Download Windows 2003 Adminpak, Administer Exchange 2003 from Windows XP SP1, Administer Exchange 2000 from Windows XP SP1 and Extract Specific Tools from Adminpak.msi.

Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack (Adminpak.msi)

To make the remote management of your servers easier, Microsoft has included the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack on the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family product CDs. Using this CD, you can install the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack onto computers that are running the following operating systems:

The Windows Server 2003 family
Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later
Windows XP Professional with QFE patch Q329357

With the RTM version of the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack, you can manage the following operating systems:

The Windows Server 2003 family
The Windows 2000 Server family

The Adminpak.msi (Adminpak) file is a self-extracting file that contains commonly used administrative tools. The Adminpak.msi file is located in the ‘I386 folder on the Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM or as a separate Web download package. If you want to remotely administer Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 family member-based computers and domain controllers from Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003 family-based clients, note the following issues:

You must completely remove previous beta versions of the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools package before you install the final release version.
Note In some limited cases, servers must be administered from clients that are running the same operating system version. For example, some remote administration operations against Windows 2000-based servers can be accomplished only from Windows 2000-based clients. Similarly, some operations against Windows Server 2003-based computers can be accomplished only from Windows XP-based or Windows Server 2003 clients. This article documents these limitations or restrictions for each tool that is included in the Administration Tools package.
The administration tools from the Windows 2000 Adminpak.msi file that are installed on Windows 2000-based computers that are later upgraded to Windows XP Professional do not start or operate correctly. The Winnt32.exe upgrade process warns you to remove the Windows 2000 version of Adminpak.msi. Either remove the Windows 2000 Adminpak.msi file before the upgrade or reinstall the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack after the upgrade. You can use the Winnt32.exe /checkupgradeonly flag to determine if the Windows 2000 Adminpak is installed before you upgrade any computer.
You cannot install the Windows 2000 Adminpak.msi file on Windows XP-based clients or on Windows Server 2003 family-based computers. These tools no longer work on these platforms and are not supported. Please use the Windows Server 2003 version of the Administration Tools pack.
The Windows Server 2003 RTM version of Adminpak.msi can only be installed on computers that are running the Windows Server 2003 family, Windows XP Professional with SP1 or later, and Windows XP Professional build 2600 with QFE Q329357.
If you are using Windows XP Professional with QFE Q329357 and the Windows Server2003 Administration Tools pack, you cannot administer Cluster servers. However, if you are using Windows XP Professional with SP1 and the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack, you can manage Cluster servers. Windows XP Professional does not include the Windows Server 2003 Adminpak.msi file because these tools are part of the Windows Server 2003 product and are shipped when that product is released
The majority of the Windows Server 2003 Administration tools work the same as the Windows 2000 counterparts. In some cases, the Windows Server 2003 Administration tools offer enhanced functionality over their Windows 2000 counterparts. In rare cases, Windows Server 2003 tools are incompatible and unsupported for managing Windows 2000 Server-based computers. Similarly, in rare cases, Windows 2000 tools are incompatible with Windows Server 2003-based family computers.
Enhanced functionality in Windows Server 2003 Administration tools may not be turned on or supported when you administer Windows 2000-based computers. For example, the new drag-and-drop feature of the Windows Server 2003 Users and Computers snap-in is fully functional against Windows 2000-based domain controllers.
Administration tools features that depend on functionality in Windows Server 2003, such as the “Saved query for last logon time” functionality, are not supported against Windows 2000 Server-based computers because earlier version servers do not have the required attributes. In most cases, these advanced features are not visible or are not turned on when Administration tools are used against Windows 2000-based computers. Windows 2000 and the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Package

The Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools package cannot be installed or run on Windows 2000-based computers. If you try to install the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools package on a Windows 2000-based computer, you receive the following error message:
Windows Server2003 Administration Tools Pack can only be installed on Windows XP Professional with QFE Q329357 applied, or on Windows XP Professional SP1 or later, or on computers running Windows Server 2003 operating systems.
Service pack level mismatch. Please obtain the Administration Tools Pack that matches the service pack level of your operating system.
Similarly, the command-line utilities from the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools package are designed to run on Windows XP and the Windows Server 2003 family only. Command-line utilities in the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools package do not run if there is a DLL mismatch or an entry point error (if you copy the utilities to a Windows 2000-based computer). If you try to install Windows 2000 Administration Tools package on a Windows Server 2003-based computer, you receive the following error message:
Windows 2000 Administration Tools are incompatible with Windows Server 2003 family operating systems. Install Windows Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack.

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