One of Windows 2008 Active Directory’s most under-utilized features is the ability to precisely target computers with Group Policy Preferences. Group Policy Preferences are different than traditional policy settings because they can be reversed by a user and not reapplied when Group Policy is refreshed. Windows 2008, Vista, and Windows 7 all have special Client Side Extensions (CSEs) for preference settings. You can download KB943729 from the Microsoft Download Center to retrofit Windows XP.

Ever delete a user account accidentally from your domain? If you have, then you know how much trouble it can be to restore a deleted account. If an Active Directory forest has been upgraded to Windows Server 2008 R2 forest functional level (FFL), the Active Directory Recycle Bin can be enabled. The Recycle Bin uses […]

Windows Server 2008 R2, with PowerShell 2.0 and the GroupPolicy management module allows for powerful administration of Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) based Group Policy. A question came up during a recent session of the Group Policy course, and then again the following week during a session of a PowerShell course. The distilled-down question […]

A student recently brought up the following issue/question: “I have Outlook XP clients predominantly, and they’re OK, but I also have some Outlook 2007 clients on my network, and I get an error message each time they open Outlook 2007.” Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010, especially with Outlook Anywhere (OA), as well as the Exchange […]

If you plan to implement Active Directory Domain Services on your network DNS will be a critical infrastructure service.  Designing a robust, fault –tolerant DNS structure is essential to the health and smooth operation of Active Directory. Starting with the introduction of Active Directory with Windows Server 2000, Microsoft switched from NetBIOS name resolution, which […]

Adding a new computer to an Active Directory domain can be a disruptive process, particularly if that computer is part of a large, high-speed deployment. Djoin.exe is a command line tool that permits the joining of a Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 computer to Active Directory while offline. Djoin.exe inserts the domain membership information […]

Group Policy is a many-splendored thing. Like many other aspects of Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), Group Policy has evolved over time, partly with respect to best practices that we recommend, tools and features from Microsoft, and third-party software and solutions. After having so much fun with Microsoft GPO Accelerator, some of my students […]

While the Attribute Editor in Windows Server 2008’s Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) doesn’t solve all directory woes, it can certainly be more convenient than firing up LDP.exe, LDIFDE, ADSIedit.msc, or one of their friends every time you want to go beyond the attributes the typical Display Specifiers have bequeathed to us in the GUI. […]

While the Attribute Editor in Windows Server 2008’s Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) doesn’t solve all directory woes, it can certainly be more convenient than firing up LDP.exe, LDIFDE, ADSIedit.msc, or one of their friends every time you want to go beyond the attributes the typical Display Specifiers have bequeathed to us in the GUI. […]

Even in professionally managed network environments it is still possible for mistakes to happen. If an Active Directory object such as a user or computer account is accidentally deleted  network access will be lost. Worker productivity will decline until the account is restored and IT support costs will add to the total expense incurred by […]