jbobst
asked on
Searching Windows Active Directory
Over the past week or so, every time I try to search for a user in AD, it can't find the user unless I use last name only or login id. I am almost positive that I used to be more flexible with my search. For example, if I am trying to add a user to a distribution list, and I type the users first name of "john", I swear it used to show me all the people with the name "john" and I could pick the right one. Now, I have to use either the last name or the user id for it to resolve a user name or show me a list of possible choices. I could be completely wrong about this, but if we have three uses with the first name of "john" in our organization, why can't AD search for them with first name? Also, if I type in the full name, like "john smith", it can't resolve that either. Maybe I am just going crazy and it was always this way...but it seems like something has changed.
MHMAdmins
Try this: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc978012.aspx
You are right. You should be able to type any part of the name and query should return your results.
i.e. Jo should return Joe John, Josh Jonhson
Are you using the Default Find tool within ADUC?
i.e. Jo should return Joe John, Josh Jonhson
Are you using the Default Find tool within ADUC?
ASKER
yo bee: Yes, using the default tool
MHMAdmins: I looked at the link but couldn't make much of it regarding my issue. Is there a specific thing to look at?
MHMAdmins: I looked at the link but couldn't make much of it regarding my issue. Is there a specific thing to look at?
Do you recall the last time you were able to search and is it only happening from your machine or all machines.
Would you be able to post a screenshot
ASKER
I don't recall when I was able to search, and I've tried this from my local domain controller and my AD users and computers snap in console on my Win 7 machine.
If you notice in the screenshot, I am looking for a user with the name jeff in the "PHX" container. The strange thing is, if I back out of that container and go to the root domain, and search for jeff, it automatically resolves to another jeff in another container. There are multiple jeff users in our organization and if it found one of them, why doesn't it find them all and give me a list to choose from. The fact that it even finds one is interesting, because I don't think it even found one when I first posted this message a few days ago.
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ASKER
Yes, but there is a jeff (me) in the PHX OU. I just picked that one as a test. I went to the root level of the domain and searched there as well and my user account didn't come up. Strangely enough though, at the root level, there is a jeff that populates, just not me and nor does it give me a choice of jeff's to choose from (there are a few jeffs in our domain). I also picked a very unique first name that only one user has in our domain and when I searched for his name, it couldn't resolve anything. Yet, if search for his last name, it resolves just fine.
What if you search by last name for you. Does it resolve?
Just out of curiosity how many DC to you have in your environment?
If you have more than one try connecting to another and see if searching works.
Just out of curiosity how many DC to you have in your environment?
If you have more than one try connecting to another and see if searching works.
ASKER
Yes, last name and login name resolve fine. We have about 7 domain controllers. I've tried three of them, all the same results. This is not a big deal, but it's just strange behavior. One thing to note, is if I go into AD Users and computers and do a "find" and use first name as the search criteria, it finds all the jeff's for example. It's when I am trying to add users to security groups or distributions lists or pick users to assign file share rights where it doesn't find anything on first name.
I would connect to the GC and see if that shows anything