Any Way to Create Windows 2000 Domain Controller in Windows NT Domain?

[Will]

I have a *very* old machine with a Windows NT domain that I want to migrate
to Windows 2000 server running Active Directory. The hardware is so old
that it cannot be realistically upgraded to run Windows 2000. There is
only 32 MB on the motherboard, for example, and it is realistically a week
project to just get the hardware upgraded to the point the machine could run
Windows 2000, assuming that the upgrade did not fail and leave the machine
hopelesssly crippled. What is the easiest way to migrate this domain to a
Windows 2000 machine?

What I had hoped I could do was to build a new Windows 2000 server, run
dcpromo, and then specify the Windows 2000 machine as an additional domain
controller in an existing domain. I pointed DNS and lmhosts on the new
Windows 2000 server to the old NT domain controller. That path fails to
work, and the errors I get suggest that dcpromo on Windows 2000 only wants
to work with Active Directory domains, not NT style domains.

Are there any easy solutions here to getting my Windows 2000 server to
import the Windows NT domain information? My key requirements are I don't
want to spend time hassling with old hardware, and I don't want to do
anything that risks the old working configuration. Anything I do to break
that old machine is going to create a potentially huge recovery project.

 

[Colin Chaplin]

I have a *very* old machine with a Windows NT domain that I want to migrate
to Windows 2000 server running Active Directory. The hardware is so old
that it cannot be realistically upgraded to run Windows 2000. There is
only 32 MB on the motherboard, for example, and it is realistically a week
project to just get the hardware upgraded to the point the machine could
run
Windows 2000, assuming that the upgrade did not fail and leave the machine
hopelesssly crippled. What is the easiest way to migrate this domain to
a
Windows 2000 machine?

What I had hoped I could do was to build a new Windows 2000 server, run
dcpromo, and then specify the Windows 2000 machine as an additional domain
controller in an existing domain. I pointed DNS and lmhosts on the new
Windows 2000 server to the old NT domain controller. That path fails to
work, and the errors I get suggest that dcpromo on Windows 2000 only wants
to work with Active Directory domains, not NT style domains.

Are there any easy solutions here to getting my Windows 2000 server to
import the Windows NT domain information? My key requirements are I
don't
want to spend time hassling with old hardware, and I don't want to do
anything that risks the old working configuration. Anything I do to
break
that old machine is going to create a potentially huge recovery project.

B

Build your new machine as an NT4 DC, upgrade THAT first and away you go. You
may want to create another NT4 DC then turn it off for completeness.

Colin

 

[Colin Chaplin]

I have a *very* old machine with a Windows NT domain that I want to migrate
to Windows 2000 server running Active Directory. The hardware is so old
that it cannot be realistically upgraded to run Windows 2000. There is
only 32 MB on the motherboard, for example, and it is realistically a week
project to just get the hardware upgraded to the point the machine could
run
Windows 2000, assuming that the upgrade did not fail and leave the machine
hopelesssly crippled. What is the easiest way to migrate this domain to
a
Windows 2000 machine?

What I had hoped I could do was to build a new Windows 2000 server, run
dcpromo, and then specify the Windows 2000 machine as an additional domain
controller in an existing domain. I pointed DNS and lmhosts on the new
Windows 2000 server to the old NT domain controller. That path fails to
work, and the errors I get suggest that dcpromo on Windows 2000 only wants
to work with Active Directory domains, not NT style domains.

Are there any easy solutions here to getting my Windows 2000 server to
import the Windows NT domain information? My key requirements are I
don't
want to spend time hassling with old hardware, and I don't want to do
anything that risks the old working configuration. Anything I do to
break
that old machine is going to create a potentially huge recovery project.

Build your new machine as an NT4 DC, make into PDC, upgrade THAT first and
away you go. You
may want to create another NT4 DC then turn it off for completeness and to
minimise recovery risk.

 

[Jorge_de_Almeida_Pinto]

I have a *very* old machine with a Windows NT domain that I
want to migrate
to Windows 2000 server running Active Directory. The
hardware is so old
that it cannot be realistically upgraded to run Windows 2000.
There is
only 32 MB on the motherboard, for example, and it is
realistically a week
project to just get the hardware upgraded to the point the
machine could run
Windows 2000, assuming that the upgrade did not fail and leave
the machine
hopelesssly crippled. What is the easiest way to migrate
this domain to a
Windows 2000 machine?

What I had hoped I could do was to build a new Windows 2000
server, run
dcpromo, and then specify the Windows 2000 machine as an
additional domain
controller in an existing domain. I pointed DNS and lmhosts
on the new
Windows 2000 server to the old NT domain controller. That
path fails to
work, and the errors I get suggest that dcpromo on Windows
2000 only wants
to work with Active Directory domains, not NT style domains.

Are there any easy solutions here to getting my Windows 2000
server to
import the Windows NT domain information? My key
requirements are I don't
want to spend time hassling with old hardware, and I don't
want to do
anything that risks the old working configuration. Anything
I do to break
that old machine is going to create a potentially huge
recovery project.

So that old machine is the only DC of that NT domain and thus the PDC?

Assuming your old DC only is a DC and has not additional sofware
installed

If I’m correct you want keep your domain name and upgrade the domain
from Nt4 to 2000... (why not 2003?) and remove the old DC. Independent
if you use 2000 AD or 2003 AD the procedure is the same

OK...

What you could do:
* Use a desktop, install an additional NT4 BDC for the old NT4 domain
* Promote the new installed BDC to PDC
* Upgrade the new PDC to W2Kx
* Install a w2kx member server in the domain
* Promote the w2kx member server to DC
* transfer ALL the roles (GC, FSMO) from the desktop w2kx DC to the
new W2kx DC
* Demote the dekstop to a server and remove from the domain
* Remove the old BDC from the domain
* Cleanup computer accounts
* Increase the mode or the domain/forest functional levels

voila, your done

 

[Will]

I'll probably do the intermediate NT4 DC as a virtual machine just because
it will go away eventually, and I'll migrate the domain once that virtual
machine is upgraded from NT4-to-2000 to a machine with a fresh Windows 2000
install.

Regarding Windows 2003, I really like this OS but Microsoft apparently had a
design requirement for this product to make the licensing requirements so
bizarrely complex that no one could understand them. We use terminal
services, and with 2003 you need to buy both Windows 2000 and Windows 2003
client licenses, and frankly it's hard enough to get any of this stuff
working at all for even one operating system. I just don't need the
hassle.

If the cost of Windows 2003 Web Edition would come down substantially I
would consider making that our default client OS (yes, client OS) because
you then get mirroring of boot devices in software, and at that point I
might switch everything over to 100% Windows 2003. But I just don't see us
enduring the complexity of a mixed environment because Microsoft makes
licensing too bizarre. We don't have the resources to add to the
complexity of software that is already way too complex and prone to
breakage.

--
Will
Internet: westes AT earthbroadcast.com

:
So that old machine is the only DC of that NT domain and thus the PDC?

Assuming your old DC only is a DC and has not additional sofware
installed

If Iâ?Tm correct you want keep your domain name and upgrade the domain
from Nt4 to 2000... (why not 2003?) and remove the old DC. Independent
if you use 2000 AD or 2003 AD the procedure is the same

OK...

What you could do:
* Use a desktop, install an additional NT4 BDC for the old NT4 domain
* Promote the new installed BDC to PDC
* Upgrade the new PDC to W2Kx
* Install a w2kx member server in the domain
* Promote the w2kx member server to DC
* transfer ALL the roles (GC, FSMO) from the desktop w2kx DC to the
new W2kx DC
* Demote the dekstop to a server and remove from the domain
* Remove the old BDC from the domain
* Cleanup computer accounts
* Increase the mode or the domain/forest functional levels

voila, your done