Hi friends.1300 users are there in my win2003 server. now i want to format and install my win2003 server. so i need to take backup or export my users fromthe active directory.after new installation i want to restore the users in the new active directory. any one can help me plz

There's several ways. LDIFDE is probably the most popular. There is really a lot of info on it available on the Internet. Do a google.com and groups.google.com search and have a look at these: http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/planning/activedirectory/bulksteps.asp http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q237677/ You should go over the above guide carefully before proceeding. Peter

Within Windows OS is the utility NT backup. You can restore your system to the way it was with the backup file. Just save the backup to a file(make sure to include system state.) And you should have all the users profiles and everything else you need. This is just another option. I have never used LDIFDE but if its popular I'm sure its a good option.

Ntbackup is completely different. LDIFDE is used to export from one domain and import to another, or import from a file. Peter

Here is a better way... use the dcpromo /adv command.. Read more about it here: http://www.petri.co.il/install_dc_from_media_in_windows_server_2003.htm