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store active directory?

N

ncage

Golden Member
Hi everyone. I have a home server (windows 2003 server x86) that has active directory and a dns server. I want to upgrade it to windows 2003 server x64 but i do not want to loose all my active directory, dns settings, ect. Can i just back up the system settings with windows backup and then install windows 2003 server x64 and restore the system settings or is it more involved than that?

thanks,
ncage
 
If you had 2 boxes you could make a 'backup' DC and bring it into the domain, demote the existing 2K3 server (this should transfer the FSMO roles), reload it, bring it back in the domain, and demote the temp DC.
 
Yep, that's the best way. And probably the only way now that I think about it. If you backup the system state, you'll get the AD data, but I doubt you can restore a system state from an x86 box to an x64 one.
 
ok i got a plan. I'm going to set up a virtual macine with windows 2003 server. Can you guys either point me to or tell me exactly what i need to do.
 
Briefly:

* Install the OS, configure the NIC to use the existing DC for DNS. Do not configure a secondary DNS.
* Run dcpromo on the new server and select the option to add an additional DC for an existing domain. If it prompts you to install DNS, select the option that tells the wizard to install DNS and configure it for you.
* After dcpromo is done, reboot and then make sure replication is working and completed. You can use a tool like repadmin /showreps for this, but there are many ways.
* If everything looks good, run dcpromo on the original server to remove it from AD cleanly. Once that completes, you can wipe the box and reload the OS.
* Perform the steps above to promote the freshly installed original server back into the domain.

Keep in mind that if you have any clients that are members of this domain, you'll need to change their DNS settings so that they point to the new virtual server. Then once you rebuild the other box, you will want to point the clients back to that server for DNS.
 
thank you very much stash. I know basic windows networking but after they upgraded from NT to win2000...windows networking became a lot more complex. I was able to get through installing active directory and dns. Thanks for your help. I really had to reinstall it anyways because i think the registry is clogged up or something. It has became so slow.
 
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