Windowa 2003 backup domain controller???

Thanks a lot true blue! So, I don't have to worry about anything since the PDC is still up. I will install a new server 2003 and then run dcpromo.exe, but I am a little confused about the FSMO roles...do I need to do anything about it, or will it just gets transferred from teh PDC.

Many thanks for your help!

if you want a backup DC which will authenticate users to the domain in case the first DC takes a header off the rack, you assign the global catalog role AND you must make sure the sysvol and netlogon shares are accessible to users. see this MS Technet article

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313994/

read this article on how to rebuild the Sysvol and Netlogon share tree for informational purposes. You can have more than one sysvol and netlogon shares throughout your DCs to provide redundancy. The FRS will replicate between the folders to make sure each is up to data.

refer to Microsoft Technet DC setup articles on creating multiple sysvol and netlogon shares and how to make sure FRS replicates across DCs for these shares

Thanks a lot CG IT, but I am a bit confused. See, I wasn't aware of the terms and names of all this a week before, but it will really help if someone can explain me step by step. I am a bit confused, hope you guys will understand and help..

Thanks.

if it's all new to you, then you shouldn't be doing it on a production network.

do you really want to be responsible for bringing the whole network down, and not be able to fix it?

Thanks CG. I agree with you, but I have the basic knowledge of the networks, it's only that windows network is sort of new. It is a backup domain controller and the location where it sits only has 3 users, so I am not touching something really hot. However, I do want to know the exact steps before I do anything, so that it doesn;t leave me in an embarassing situation.

I will really appreciate if you can guide me step by step. I really will.

Thanks.

Well right now installing windows 2003 as an AD server and joining it to a pre-existing domain should be ok to do. You will just have 3 running domain controllers that will be syching together. In 2003 there is no BDC really. You can call one a bdc in a two domain controller environment (the primary domain controller tends to have all the FSMO roles). You can then start looking to decommission the other server. Steps to figure out is which FSMO roles it may be running (probably none), services that it is running, and other applications the admin may have put on it. When everything is kosher then you need to worry about changing the IP address to be the old DCs address.

Just follow CG IT's advice and you will be sweet.