I need some expert advice regarding an upgrade

[Fran]

We're upgrading a Windows 2000 server to Windows Server 2003. Because
of some OS problems on the 2000 server I want to completely reformat
the drive (the OS is on C: and is the only thing installed there) and
do a clean install of the OS. However, as you can imagine there are
shares and security items I would like to NOT have to manually
recreate...so...

Is there a way I can backup or save (or something) the information
regarding shares and other security items (other than AD...I have a
second DC) on this server so after installing Win 2k3 I can restore
these security settings?

Any thoughts are welcomed.

-Fran-

 

[bob]

We're upgrading a Windows 2000 server to Windows Server 2003. Because
of some OS problems on the 2000 server I want to completely reformat
the drive (the OS is on C: and is the only thing installed there) and
do a clean install of the OS. However, as you can imagine there are
shares and security items I would like to NOT have to manually
recreate...so...

Is there a way I can backup or save (or something) the information
regarding shares and other security items (other than AD...I have a
second DC) on this server so after installing Win 2k3 I can restore
these security settings?

Any thoughts are welcomed.

-Fran-

ntbackup, the built in backup program can save the existing security
rights as it backs up the data to a file or tape drive. I did see a
reference to a registry key you can export and re-import to keep the
shares but with both of these mothods not sure once up to 2003 if either
would be compatible and I cant remember the detail of which key.

i would like to assume 2003 ntbackup can read 2000's backups but would
prefer to confirm that for sure before doing it.

 

[Fran]

Thanks, Bob. I'm not sure NTBackup is what I need though. What would I
backup? I don't need to backup the OS or files as I'm wiping the
system of Win2k (and all the data in all the shares are on other
drives/partitions). All I need is the shares and security permissions.
The AD is on several DC's so that's in good shape.

-Fran-

 

[Kurt]

If the computer you're upgrading is a domain controller and you plan on
keeping it a domain controller, you'll need to do a bit of work on the other
Windows 2000 DCs in order to get them to accept a W2K3 server as a DC
(adprep, forestprep), or upgrade them all. If this is just a file server and
will be a member server in your domain - assuming all permissions are set at
the domain level - all of the ntfs security on your data partition should
still be intact. You'll need to re-share under the new OS after joining the
domain and assign share permissions if they differ from what is inherited
from the top share level. In most cases, share permissions are
"everyone-full control" anyway in windows 2000, and access is controlled at
the NTFS level (That's the Windows way in W2K). The default share
permissions in W2K3 are "Everyone-Read", so you will have to change them on
shares where users need to write. Obviously, you'll need to be sure that any
of the FSMO roles this DC has are transferred to another DC prior to taking
it down. You can just go to computer management, expand the shares entry and
take a screenshot for a quick list of what needs to be re-shared.

....kurt

 

[Fran]

That's what I've done in the past. I takes a screen shot of the shares
in Management | Shares but it only shows the names and paths, not all
the relationships. I was hoping there was a way to backup and restore
all this after the change over.

I've done a few 2003 into 2000 conversions now so I'm familiar with
the AdPrep and ForestPrep part I was just wanting to avoid all the
mess of the sharing. Maybe there isn't a way???

Thanks for the heads up, Kurt! If I find a solution I'll post it for
others.

-Fran-