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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Installing Active Directory Tools Under Windows 7

This blog post is a step-by-step guide to installing the Active Directory Tools (i.e. Active Directory Users and Computers) on a Windows 7 machine. It has been tested on Windows 7 Enterprise but will probably work with Professional or Ultimate as well - Home users it will not work (but then why are you wanting to administer AD from a home machine??!!)

First of all you need to download the software from Microsoft. In the Microsoft Download Centre these are called "Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7" a direct link to the download page is given below;

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=7d2f6ad7-656b-4313-a005-4e344e43997d

If you scroll down to the "Files in This Download" section of the page you'll see two files. Depending on whether or not you're running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7 you need to pick the correct file. If you're unsure of which version you're running then go to the start button, right-click "Computer" and then select "Properties". You'll see something like this;
System Information (64-bit/32-bit)
Look at the "System type:" value and you'll see what version of Windows you're running.

If you're running 32-bit then you need to download the file which starts "x86..." (currently this is "x86fre_GRMRSAT_MSU.msu" but it might change). For 64-bit users you need to download the file which begins "amd64..." (currently this is "amd64fre_GRMRSATX_MSU.msu") - this is true even if you're running a non-AMD 64-bit processor. The reason for this I'll leave Microsoft to explain ...

Once you've got the file install it (it's a standard KB update file).

After it's been successfully installed go to the Start Menu > Control Panel and select "Programs";
"Turn Windows Features on or off" under "Programs and Features"
The "Windows Features" dialog box will be displayed, scroll down to "Role Administration Tools" (under "Remote Server Administration Tools") and select the the following items;
"Windows Features" dialog
Click "OK" to make the changes.

In order to make finding these under the Start Menu a little easier right-click the Start Button and select "Properties";
Taskbar and Start Menu Properties
Select "Customize ..." and then scroll down the list until you see "System administrative tools" and choose where you want the tools to display;
Customize Start Menu
Under the Start Menu you will now see an "Administrative Tools" option, under this you'll see the new AD Tools;
Active Directory Start Menu Items
NOTE: Sometimes a reboot is required to pick up these changes!

24 comments:

Glenn said...

GREAT!!! Had to re-image my machine and was looking everywhere to turn back o nthe tools!!!

Anonymous said...

thank you, it works in my pc. thanks a lot!

Anonymous said...

Thank you!!!! Works great and exactly what I needed!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, much appreciated, works great ! :)

Waseem Khan- SharePoint Technology Consultant said...

Waseem(IT Execellence Center):Active directory was installed properly but at the end while in opening it i get an error " Naming information could not be located because the specified domain does not exist or could not be contacted " but the problem is that i haven't join any domain i am using a workgroup ??? is there any solution ???

Anonymous said...

You need a new computer.

Anonymous said...

LOL @ IT Execellence Center. Guess your IT or your spelling is not excellent..

Anonymous said...

Waseem Khan(ITEC) > I think the problem is that you need to be running the management tools as a user who can see the domain - if you are on a machine not connected to the domain authentication could be "difficult".

Can you do a "Run as" and enter a authenticated domain user?

D said...

Absolutely helpful, you saved my day!

Diler

Jay said...

Thank-you so much, this was really helpful!

Mashimaro said...

COOl! I was looking for it for a while. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

I forgot how to do this... Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Thank you! You made quick work of figuring this out!

Geeks Reign!

Unknown said...

I received the following message
"Update is not applicable to you computer"
how i should resolve this

Anonymous said...

You receive the message "Update is not applicable to you computer" if you've downloaded the wrong update (i.e. Windows 7 if you're running Windows Vista or 32-bit if you're running 64-bit).

What version of Windows are you running?

CharlieBoy808.com said...

OMG thank you for this. My ass is finally moving over to a Windows 7 machine after administering on XP for so long. I was smashing my head against the wall because AdminPak.msi wasn't working. Started getting mad when Microsoft's site kept pointing me to download after download. I had to stop and think, "Microsoft wouldn't have the answer I'm looking for. Google would DUH!" So thank you for this you sir are amazing.

Hank hendricks said...

like the tutorial...you make it easy to follow..I appreciate you share it.

Church Software

raima said...

Great job! This is what exactly I want
Blackjack Software
Hank Hendricks

Anonymous said...

i was trying to setup with Active Direcotory and finally i asked to get server access but your post saved my work. and i was able to install it in my windows 7 machine. Thank you so much.

devang said...

in my windows 7 i did not found remote administration tools in turn winodes features on and off.

Unknown said...

This was a great help in giving my Windows 7 system a very useful tool I've used for years on my XP systems.

Unknown said...

Can I use this machine with the active directory tools as a child domain? if yes please tell me how.

Thanks..

Lilian said...

Thankyou. Worked perfectly for me!

cj said...

Thank you this worked for me and is exactly what i needed.