MS says that to rename a DC, the domain functional level must be Windows 2003; my current domain level is Windows 2003 Interim (which supports both W2K3 DC's and NT4 BDC's)... is that good enough? Thanks, Gabe

I don't think so. This one I can' swear to because I haven't had the time to work with this much but I'm fairly sure that to do a domain rename, you will need to be in Windows Server 2003 mode. I don't think Interim will let that happen but again, this one I'm not 100% certain on. I remember that machines running Windows NT 4.0 will need to unjoin and then rejoin the renamed domain instead of rebooting. Whether or not this also applies to NT 4 DCs I'm not sure but unjoining a BDC from the domain mean that basically you need to reformat it. And don't forget - although you can rename a domain in w2k3, it is a MAJOR pain where you don't get a headache and is highly NOT recommended if you can avoid it. If I find a definate answer, I'll let you know.

Hi Glen, I actually just want to rename a domain controller, not the domain itself... I've read where (if you're in the proper domain functional level) you can simply rename the DC via the System applet OR (preferably, according to MS) install the W2K3 Resource Kit and use netdom to rename the DC. I was hoping that W2K3 Interim domain functional level would suffice... Gabe

My mistake, I misread what you were saying. I believe in that case it will let you rename the DC unless the DC is acting as a certificate authority server, in which case you cannot rename it. If so, the option to 'change' will be grayed out so you can't hurt anything.