Windows Deployment Services is a technology for deploying Windows on multiple computers without using CD/DVD on each computer. If you have already configured WDS on server 2012 R2, configuring it on WDS on server 2016 can be a piece of cake for you. Following are step-by-step instructions. Installation of WDS Step 1. Open server manager. ... Read more
You can secure your WDS deployments by pre-staging client computers using their GUID or MAC addresses. This way, only known client computers will be able to install the Windows operating system on their machines. This tutorial applies to Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2016. Pre-Stage the setup of Windows Client Computers Step 1. ... Read more
Domain users are by default allowed to shutdown, restart, or put the domain-joined client computers to sleep. However, you can use a group policy to prevent them from shutting down or restarting the client computers. Following are step by step instructions written for this purpose. Prevent Users from Shutting Down their Computer Step 1. Open Group ... Read more
When you open an active directory users and computers console, you will see some of the following containers or OUs. These are the available OUs or container types: Builtin Computers Domain Controllers ForeignSecurityPrincipals Managed Service Accounts Users Show all OU in Active Directory Console But these are not the only containers or organizational units in ... Read more
ADDS roles can be removed by using the GUI and Powershell. Powershell is a fast and easy method that requires only a single command. Remove ADDS Role with PowerShell Step 1: Open PowerShell. Step 2: Type in the following command and then press enter: Uninstall-ADDSDomainController -DemoteOperationMasterRole -RemoveApplicationPartition Step 3: Provide the local administrator password and press ... Read more
These instructions describe how to migrate print services from Windows Server 2012 R2 to Windows Server 2016. Windows Server 2016 has built-in migration wizard. Install Print Services on Server 2016 Step 1: Open the server manager. Click on the Add Roles and Features wizard. Step 2: Click on Next. Step 3: Choose Role-based or feature-based installation ... Read more
Migrating a DHCP from Server 2012 R2 to Server 2016 involves only two commands. The first command is to export the DHCP data and is run on Server 2012 R2. The second command imports the DHCP data and it is run on the Windows 2016 server. The following steps illustrate how to use those two ... Read more
When a domain controller server is crashed and it still exists in an active directory setup, then it can make trouble later when you are promoting new machines to the domain controller. This guide is written to help you clean up your active directory setup. 1. At the command prompt, type in the following commands: C:\WINDOWS>ntdsutil ntdsutil: metadata ... Read more
Sometimes, you may be required to check who has logged into your computer while you were away. You can do so by using an event viewer on your computer. These steps are for Windows 8.1, but should almost be the same for Windows 7 and Windows 10. Enable Logon Auditing Step 1: Press Windows icon ... Read more
In this article, I am going to explain the difference between a samAccountName and a userPrincipalName which are often used in an Active Directory context. samAccountName It was used with an earlier version of windows (pre-windows 2000). User login name is in the format of DomainName\testUser. It should be less than 20 characters. It should be ... Read more