hi, i am trying to add a windows server 2003 to a windows 2000 domain. i ran dcpromo.exe, and recieved an error that i need to run adrep to prepare the forrest and domain. first question is do i run adrep on the windows 2003 server or on the windows 2000 server. and the second question is that i just want to add the 2003 server and do not want to upgrade the windows 2000 active directory to windows server 2003 active direcotry, or is this a necessary step to take in order to add the w2k3 server to the domain. once the w2k3 server has been added as a DC will it appear in the active directory sites and services snap in or do i have to add the server manually into the active directory sites and services on one of the DC's?

a search on the web of adprep will tell you all you want to know. Give a person a fish, they eat for a day. Suggest they internet search and they learn a skill for a lifetime.

hi thanks for that valueable information, i would have never though of it. i have already done that hence i am asking the question now. once i have run adprep/forestprep and adprep/domainprep do i need to run adprep/domainprep/gpprep, or is it not essential to run the last adprep, well i couldnt understand what this last thing does.

hello all, it turns out the adprep has already been run on the windows 2000 domain controller. but the 2003 server r2 still fails during the dcpromo.exe process. can anybody help and point me in the right direction as to why the dcpromo is failing? it says that the enviroment is different to the server i am trying to add.

If you had really searched you would not have asked which server you would run it on. If you had read any of the many articles you would understand you have to expand the 2000 AD schema to include the new 2003 objects which is why you run adprep. Did you run the adprep as found on the server O3 cd? see here http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=917385 If you had googled the error you would already be done. Give a person a fish, they eat for a day. Suggest they internet search and they learn a skill for a lifetime.