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Windows 2008 Server R2 adprep\adprep32

Darius Ghassem
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Are you having trouble running ADPREP on your current 32-bit Domain Controller? Have you ran ADPREP multiple times on your Domain but still get an error stating you have not prepared your Domain yet?

Here is a change that gets even the most seasoned Admins. In Windows 2008 Server R2 there is a new ADPREP that needs to be run on a Domain Controller that are your FSMO role holder of the Schema Master role and run a 32-bit version of Windows Server.

The Domain prep tool is called ADPREP32 which is located on in the \support\adprep.

The switches for the ADPREP32 are the same as the adprep. Here are the main switches used /FORESTPREP, /DOMAINPREP, and /RODCPREP.

Now adprep is still used when your current Domain Controller that holds the FSMO role of Schema Master role is running a 64-bit version of Windows Server. Actually the 64-bit version of ADPREP runs by default this is why you must know to run ADPREP32 on your 32-bit Domain Controller.

Some background information on adprep:

ADPREP is a command line tool that comes with each version of Windows server.  ADPREP is used to extend the Active Directory schema to support the new features of Active Directory Services in the new Windows version.

There are a number of switches that need to be used with the ADPREP command depending on the version of Windows and the current Domain/Forest structure.

ADPREP updates the Active Directory schema; updates security descriptors; modifies ACLs for Active Directory objects & SYSVOL; and sometimes creates new objects and containers.


Here are the Active Directory schema versions:

13=Windows 2000
30=windows 2003
31=Windows 2003 R2
44=Windows 2008
47=Windows 2008 R2

To find your current AD schema you can run this nice tool http://www.joeware.net/freetools/tools/adfind/index.htm with this command adfind -sc schver that I found out about from Mkline71. Before this tool I was doing it the manual way.

Additional information on adprep can be found here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc731728(WS.10).aspx

http://blog.rickmitchellsolutions.com/2010/01/windows-server-2008-r2-adprep.html
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Darius Ghassem
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