changing the domain of a windows NT server?

[Edward Letendre]

I have a bit of a confusing problem for myself. I have a windows NT 4.0
server that I am looking after, as the administrator is long gone. This
particular server was part of a domain called ATS. The domain controller for
the ATS domain quit working a few months ago and there was no backup domain
controller (bad design I know but that is the way it was setup before I got
there). Anyway, the only computer left in the ATS domain is the atsadmin
server that I want to move to a different domain called SQL2. On the
atsadmin computer, there is a SQL Server 7 database that is usually stopped
and also an IIS server that seems to be disabled at the moment. There are
the regular services running on this server that needs to be moved but I am
not sure what they are at the moment. The SQL2 domain also has a windows
2000 server with active directory and there appears to be a trust
relationship between the two domains, but wihtout the domain controller I
cannot get access to the domain controller to see how the trust was setup or
if the trust can be removed. On the windows 2000 server, the sql2 domain is
the domain that is trusted in a two way domain trust, but I cannot see what
other domain is being trusted. There was a third domain in this company, but
the servers and computers from that domain have been removed or disabled or
relocated to the SQL2 domain.

So my question is, what can I use on the Windows NT 4.0 server to move the
atsadmin server from the ATS domain to the SQL2 domain so that there is only
one domain with all the servers (there are only two servers, the windows 2000
server and the atsadmin server around right now). I have seen the server
manager program or utility in Windows NT 4.0 and there are two options
available to me, remove the server from a domain and add the server to a
domain. I cannot access the manager for domains program or utility as the
domain controller is gone (as I said before), so I cannot manage the domain
in any way shape or form.

Edward Letendre.

 

[Forty Pound Head]

On Aug 9, 10:46 pm, Edward Letendre
<EdwardLeten...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> I have a bit of a confusing problem for myself. I have a windows NT 4.0
> server that I am looking after, as the administrator is long gone. This
> particular server was part of a domain called ATS. The domain controller for
> the ATS domain quit working a few months ago and there was no backup domain
> controller (bad design I know but that is the way it was setup before I got
> there). Anyway, the only computer left in the ATS domain is the atsadmin
> server that I want to move to a different domain called SQL2. On the
> atsadmin computer, there is a SQL Server 7 database that is usually stopped
> and also an IIS server that seems to be disabled at the moment. There are
> the regular services running on this server that needs to be moved but I am
> not sure what they are at the moment. The SQL2 domain also has a windows
> 2000 server with active directory and there appears to be a trust
> relationship between the two domains, but wihtout the domain controller I
> cannot get access to the domain controller to see how the trust was setup or
> if the trust can be removed. On the windows 2000 server, the sql2 domain is
> the domain that is trusted in a two way domain trust, but I cannot see what
> other domain is being trusted. There was a third domain in this company, but
> the servers and computers from that domain have been removed or disabled or
> relocated to the SQL2 domain.
>
> So my question is, what can I use on the Windows NT 4.0 server to move the
> atsadmin server from the ATS domain to the SQL2 domain so that there is only
> one domain with all the servers (there are only two servers, the windows 2000
> server and the atsadmin server around right now). I have seen the server
> manager program or utility in Windows NT 4.0 and there are two options
> available to me, remove the server from a domain and add the server to a
> domain. I cannot access the manager for domains program or utility as the
> domain controller is gone (as I said before), so I cannot manage the domain
> in any way shape or form.
>
> Edward Letendre.

Edward -

If the DC is gone, the trust is broken. No authentication can take
place on the ATS domain if there are no domain controllers to process
the request.

Has anyone complained of not being able to get to the server in the
ATS domain? You mention that the SQL and IIS services are stopped or
disabled. If these are the only services that the machine was
providing, why bother migrating it to the SQL2 domain?

If there is no value or service for it to provide, there is no need.

Something else to consider is if the SQL2 domain is running mixed mode
or native mode Active Directory. I may be wrong, but I don't think NT
machines play well on a native mode AD domain. You would need to be
in mixed mode in order for the NT machine to find the PDC emulator.

FortyPoundHead.com

 

[Edward Letendre]

I see what you mean. I would have to check to see if the SQL2 server is in
mix mode. I also want to mention that I can still access the NT server in
the ATS domain from any workstation on the network, no matter what domain it
is in. I was just wanting to move the server to the same domain to
re-organize the network but as you said, active directory needs to be in
mixed mode to work with NT 4.0. I just have a few applications that run on
the server (an access 2.0 database and a geographic mapping application). I
am not sure if I could move the applications to another computer, but I might
consider doing that and simply retire the server itself, or just leave the
domain the way it is).

Edward Letendre

"Forty Pound Head" wrote:

> On Aug 9, 10:46 pm, Edward Letendre
> <EdwardLeten...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> > I have a bit of a confusing problem for myself. I have a windows NT 4.0
> > server that I am looking after, as the administrator is long gone. This
> > particular server was part of a domain called ATS. The domain controller for
> > the ATS domain quit working a few months ago and there was no backup domain
> > controller (bad design I know but that is the way it was setup before I got
> > there). Anyway, the only computer left in the ATS domain is the atsadmin
> > server that I want to move to a different domain called SQL2. On the
> > atsadmin computer, there is a SQL Server 7 database that is usually stopped
> > and also an IIS server that seems to be disabled at the moment. There are
> > the regular services running on this server that needs to be moved but I am
> > not sure what they are at the moment. The SQL2 domain also has a windows
> > 2000 server with active directory and there appears to be a trust
> > relationship between the two domains, but wihtout the domain controller I
> > cannot get access to the domain controller to see how the trust was setup or
> > if the trust can be removed. On the windows 2000 server, the sql2 domain is
> > the domain that is trusted in a two way domain trust, but I cannot see what
> > other domain is being trusted. There was a third domain in this company, but
> > the servers and computers from that domain have been removed or disabled or
> > relocated to the SQL2 domain.
> >
> > So my question is, what can I use on the Windows NT 4.0 server to move the
> > atsadmin server from the ATS domain to the SQL2 domain so that there is only
> > one domain with all the servers (there are only two servers, the windows 2000
> > server and the atsadmin server around right now). I have seen the server
> > manager program or utility in Windows NT 4.0 and there are two options
> > available to me, remove the server from a domain and add the server to a
> > domain. I cannot access the manager for domains program or utility as the
> > domain controller is gone (as I said before), so I cannot manage the domain
> > in any way shape or form.
> >
> > Edward Letendre.
>
> Edward -
>
> If the DC is gone, the trust is broken. No authentication can take
> place on the ATS domain if there are no domain controllers to process
> the request.
>
> Has anyone complained of not being able to get to the server in the
> ATS domain? You mention that the SQL and IIS services are stopped or
> disabled. If these are the only services that the machine was
> providing, why bother migrating it to the SQL2 domain?
>
> If there is no value or service for it to provide, there is no need.
>
> Something else to consider is if the SQL2 domain is running mixed mode
> or native mode Active Directory. I may be wrong, but I don't think NT
> machines play well on a native mode AD domain. You would need to be
> in mixed mode in order for the NT machine to find the PDC emulator.
>
> FortyPoundHead.com
>
>