Category Archives: Active Directory

64-bit Version of Acctinfo2.dll

Some time ago I blogged about the Acctinfo2.dll tool and how unfortunate it was that a 64-bit version was not available.  Well, the good news is that you can now download a 64-bit version from here:  Acctinfo2_64bit.zip I have tested the DLL on both Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 and it seems… Read More »

Bulk Create Active Directory Contact Objects

If you’re creating contact objects in Active Directory the Exchange cmdlets New-MailContact, Set-MailContact and Set-Contact are usually sufficient.  On the other hand I haven’t found a way using these cmdlets to set all the attributes that I might need.  For example, the “description” attribute doesn’t appear to feature anywhere. Things have obviously changed with the… Read More »

How to revert the forest functional level in Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008 R2 introduces the ability to revert to an earlier forest or domain functional level.  Previous versions of Active Directory did not have this ability and raising the forest or domain function level was, effectively, a one-way operation.  I say “effectively” because it is possible to revert, but only through highly disruptive recovery… Read More »

Error when installing AD Management Gateway Service

I went to install the AD Management Gateway Service (KB968934) on a Domain Controller running Windows Server 2008 SP2 and I received the error shown below. Installer encountered an error: 0x80070422.  The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has not enabled devices associated with it. The problem was that… Read More »

Domain and Forest Functional Levels

There seems to be a certain amount of confusion surrounding Domain and Forest functional levels.  Microsoft’s own documentation doesn’t always incorporate the latest version information.  KB322692 is a case in point.  I also often hear the words “Native” and “Mixed” in relation to functional levels involving Windows Server 2003 or 2008, when in fact these terms… Read More »

The goodness that is Powershell ISE

Earlier this week Nathan Mercer (Technology Advisor for Microsoft) gave me a brief look at the new Powershell Integrated Scripting Environment available with Windows Server 2008 R2.  ISE allows you to run commands and write, test, and debug scripts in a Windows GUI.  It also has multi-line editing, tab completion, syntax coloring, selective execution and context-sensitive help.  The best thing… Read More »