Migrating Win 2K/NT to Win 2K3

Migrating from one OS to another is about not just transferring data and applications but also user accounts, profiles, groups, etc. In this article we will talk about migrating from

Win 2000/NT server to Win 2003 Server. 

Win 2K Server to Win 2K3 Server



Migrating from Win 2000 server to Win 2003 is an easy process. Win 2003 can migrate all the organizational objects from the Win 2000 Server. Here is how to do it.

STEP

ONE



Here we will discuss the case where you have a Win 2000 server as your domain controller. First, run the Win 2003 installer CD on the Win 2000 Server machine. Then, open a command prompt and go to the \i386 folder of the CD. Now issue the following command:

D:\i386>ADPREP /forestPrep 

Setting up the trust relationship between the NT and the Win 2k3 domain

Now press C to prepare the active directory for migration and then issue the following command

D:\i386>ADPREP /DomainPrep

This command takes information of the old Win 2k active directory and makes it compliant with Win 2003. 

STEP

TWO



Now re-insert the Win 2003 Sever CD in the drive and run the Installation setup. During this process, you will be asked to choose Upgrade or New Installation. Select the Upgrade option. In the process of upgradation, Win 2003 server automatically takes the old
active directory organizational structure and migrates it to Win 2003 server.

Win NT 4 to Win 2K3 Server



Migrating from an NT 4 server is a tedious process because Win 2003 server has a totally different architecture than it. 

We have taken a case where Win NT 4 (with service pack 4 or higher) running as PDC (Source Domain) and Win 2003 server

are sitting on the same network with active directory installed. 

The Win 2003 server has to be run in native mode, where it acts like a Win 2000 server. To do so, select



Start/Programs/Administrative Tools/Active Directory Domain and Trusts. It will open a window where you need to select the domain and right click on it. From the Context menu, select Raise Domain Functional level and set it to the native mode. 

Now follow these steps for the migration: 

STEP

ONE



Create a trust relationship between the source and the target domains. On the target domain (Win 2k3 server), open Active Directory Domains and Trusts from Start>All Programs>Administrative Tools. This will open an MS Management Console.

From the left window panel select the domain icon, right click on it and select properties from the context menu. In the properties sheet, click on the Trusts tab. Here, click on the New trust button at the bottom. This will run a wizard to create trust relations. Here, you will be asked to fill in the source domain NETBIOS name (NT.4.0 domain). Give the NETBIOS name and click next. On the NT server right click on network neighborhood and select properties. The computer name is the NETBIOS name. Now select Two-Way as the direction of your trust relation and click next. Here the wizard will ask you to select authentication mode, select Domain-wide Authentication and click next. Now give the administrator password and then click the Next button three times to finish the trust relationship setup.

STEP

TWO



Now, come to the source domain (ie your NT 4 machine) and create the trust relationship with the target domain (Win 2003).


For this, open User manger for domains from Start/Programs/Administrative Tools. This will open a window showing all users and groups in the NT 4.0 domain. From its menu select Policies>Trust and Relationships. Here set the trust relation for target domain (Win 2003) to two way.

STEP

THREE



Now create a local group on your source domain (NT.4) named “Source Domain$$$”. Remember to type exactly as given within the quotes. Then, on the same machine, run regedit.exe and add an entry TcpipClientSupport and set its REG_DWORD value to 1 from
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CURRENTCONTROLSET/CONTROL/LSA 

Use ADMT tool to migrate user accounts from NT to 2k3

STEP

FOUR



Now you need the ADMT 2.0 tool to migrate all the users, groups and computers from NT 4 to Win 2003. Download this tool from www.microsoft.com/downloads/ and install it on the target domain (Win 2003 server). Now, run the Active Directory Migration tool from Start>All Programs>Administrative Tools. This will open a MS Management console. On its menu bar, click on the action button and you will get the list of wizards to migrate users, groups, computers etc. Run them one by one. These wizards will ask you to select the source and target domains from the list. From the wizards, you can select the objects such as user, groups, and computers that you want to migrate from source domain (NT 4 domain) to the target. It also ask you to specify the path where you need to migrate to, in the new ADS (created in Win 2003). 

While migrating users, their passwords don’t get transferred. You can set the wizard to replace the password with user names itself and the user can change it after logging in.

Now, you can install your application and move your data over. If you decide to remove the NT4 machine form the network, you can now raise the domain functional level to Win 2003.

Sanjay Majumder