Transferring User Accounts from NT to 2000.

[Scrapster]

We're replacing a server in our lab. The server is currently running NT 4.0 on a very slow Pentium machine. We are planning to replace it with a completely new computer running Windows 2000 Server. The dilemma is that we want to keep all of the user accounts and files that the users have saved and move them to the new server. I've briefly looked through the help docs and haven't found an exact answer to my question. I'm not even 100% sure this is possible, but I would think so.

Can anyone recommend some suggestions on how I can make these transitions work? I definitely don't want to type in all of the accounts in manually and transfer account files one by one.

Please help!!!

 

[Shadow07]

In order to upgrade your existing domain, you will have to either install Windows 2000 over-top of your Windows NT installation, install AD, then bring your new server online. You can then start to transfer user files after you promote the new server to a DC.

Or, you can setup the new server, install AD with a completely new domain, then use a command line tool (and the name escapes me right now), and transfer the user accounts off of the Windows NT 4 domain to the new AD domain. The problem with this is that you will have to visit every machine and change either the Workgroup name or the Domain they belong to.

I would suggest doing the first suggestion.

If you have any further questions, please let me know.

 

[Scrapster]

In order to upgrade your existing domain, you will have to either install Windows 2000 over-top of your Windows NT installation, install AD, then bring your new server online. You can then start to transfer user files after you promote the new server to a DC.

Ugh.. Thing is that we are bringing in a whole new server/computer. We're completely ditching the old server. The only thing we want to keep are the users and their files. I'm not quite sure how your first method will transfer user accounts from one server to another...?

 

[nightowl]

Although I am not a fan of installing over old OS's, couldn't you install NT4 on the new server first and set it up as a BDC and syncronize it with your PDC and then upgrade to Win2k Server.

 

[joohang]

nightowl: Sounds like a great idea.

 

[Shadow07]

Yes you could. What you would have to do though is promote the BDC to PDC and demote the PDC to BDC. Then upgrade the OS, run DCPROMO and install Active Directory. The problem you will run into though is if you do this, you will run into a NetBIOS issue. You will not be able to create a new domain (even though you aren't) with the same NetBIOS name as the one you currently have up and running. This is why I suggested you upgrade over the NT 4 installation. BEFORE you do that, you might want to take a desktop, install NT 4 server, insatll it as a BDC, and sync the domain so you have a backup of the user accounts. After you sync the domain, take the BDC offline (physically unplug the network cable).

This is the way I have successfully "upgraded" the domain from NT4 to 2000/AD.

Let me know if you have any further questions.