Windows Server 2000, Windows Sever 2003, and Windows Server 2008
Q: Does UPromote run on Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008?
A: Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008 use a radically different method for domain control called Active Directory (AD). AD is based on the Lightweight Directory Application Protocol (LDAP), which in turn is based on a subset of the international OSI X.500 standards for directory search and management.
AD requires that you install the Domain Name System (DNS) and maintain directory trees for all machines in your organization. Windows Server 2000/2003/2008 have a built-in utility, DCPROMO.EXE, that will install Active Directory on your standalone server and promote it to a domain controller.
NT 4 does not support AD directly. If your Windows 2000/2003/2008 domain controller is running in pre-Windows 2000 compatibility mode ("mixed" mode), you can use UPromote to create an NT 4 DC that can join the Active Directory domain as a Backup Domain Controller (BDC). UPromote does not otherwise support Windows 2000/2003/2008 Active Directory.
Q: Can I use UPromote to demote a Windows NT 4.0 BDC from an Active Directory domain?
A: Yes. You can use UPromote to remove your remaining NT domain controllers from your AD domain. Run UPromote and select "standalone server". After you are finished, go to "Active Directory Users & Computers" and delete the BDC from the folder "Domain Controllers". In some cases you may need to also delete it from "Active Directory Sites & Services" (Q216364).
When UPromote is finished the computer will become a standalone server running in its own workgroup.
Afterwards you can join the computer to the domain as a member computer. Create the member computer object in the AD folder "Computers". (Check the box "Allow pre-Windows 2000 computers to use this account".) On the NT computer run the Control Panel Networking applet to join the computer to the domain.