Category Archives: Windows Server 2012

Resolving Hyper-v Error: “‘Unnamed VM’ could not initialize… The security ID structure is invalid.”

Posted on February 4, 2015 by jbernec

While moving my Lab to a new environment using the Hyper-v Export and Import VM options, I ran into an “‘Unnamed VM’ could not initialize… The security ID structure is invalid” error when trying to start the Domain Controller Virtual … Continue reading →

Posted in Hyper-v, Hyper-v 2012 R2, Hyper-v Manager, Microsoft Hyper-v, PowerShell, Powershell 4.0, Uncategorized, VHDX, Virtual Machines, WIndows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2 DHCP Failover with PowerShell and Resolving Custom Options Error 20010.

Posted on January 29, 2015 by jbernec

For the first time, WS 2012 R2 offers a true DHCP failover and load balance solution that works. After recently migrating to Windows Server 2012 R2 DHCP, I went a step further to configure failover to a partner server with … Continue reading →

Posted in DHCP, DHCP Failover, DHCP High Availability, PowerShell, Powershell 4.0, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

PowerShell Script Monitors Security Logs and Sends Email Alerts.

Posted on November 12, 2014 by jbernec

I wrote this PowerShell script to send email alerts when Active Directory User Account, Security and Distribution Group Management events occur in the Security logs.A few parameters will need to be edited to adapt the script to any Active Directory … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Directory, Active Directory Domain Services, Audit Logs, Domain Controller, Event Logs, PowerShell, PowerShell 3.0, Powershell 4.0, Windows Server 2008 R2 Backup, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Uninstalling Software with Powershell.

Posted on June 9, 2014 by jbernec

I have a number of Hyper-v Windows Server 2012 R2 core host machines in my environment. Once in a while, I have to check for installed software and uninstall software for maintenance. The following WMIObject class helped me achieve the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hyper-v, Hyper-v 2012 R2, Microsoft Hyper-v, PowerShell, PowerShell 3.0, Powershell 4.0, Windows Server 2008 R2 Backup, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Setting Up a WS2012 R2 Windows Deployment Server (WDS) for Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE).

Posted on February 11, 2014 by jbernec

In this post I want to quickly go through my experience setting up a Windows Deployment Server for PXE Boot(Pre-Boot Execution Environment) for my lab servers. Platform is Windows Server 2012 R2 .I outline the steps as follows: 1) Open … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Directory, Active Directory Domain Services, DHCP, PowerShell, PowerShell 3.0, Powershell 4.0, Pre-Boot Execution Environment, PXE, Virtual Machines, WDS, Windows Deployment Server, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Using NTDSUTIL Metada Cleanup to Remove a Failed/Offline Domain Controller Object.

Posted on January 27, 2014 by jbernec

In this post, I would like to talk about using the ntdsutil utility for metadata cleanup. A domain controller failure ‘DC00’ recently occurred in my lab. Running the repadmin /replsum command confirmed a replication error and showed DC00 as unavailable: … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Directory, Active Directory Domain Services, AD Forest, DCPromo, Domain Controller, DSRM, Flexible Single Master Operations, FSMO, NTDSUtil, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 R2 Backup, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Demoting the last Windows Server 2012 R2 Domain Controller with PowerShell.

Posted on January 13, 2014 by jbernec

As with promoting a server to domain controller, demoting the a domain controller is also a straight forward process with PowerShell. The following PowerShell cmdlets are available from the ADDSDeployment module: Uninstall Active Directory: The demote process got a little … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Directory, Active Directory Domain Services, AD Forest, DCPromo, Domain Controller, PowerShell, PowerShell 3.0, Powershell 4.0, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Configuring a Single Windows Server 2012 R2 Active Directory Domain Controller in a new Forest.

Posted on January 6, 2014 by jbernec

Pre-Windows Server 2012 and PowerShell 4.0, the primary tool/command for Active Directory Domain Controller promotion and demotion has always been the Dcpromo command. With Windows Server 2012, it’s been replaced by a suite of PowerShell cmdlets contained in the ADDSDeployment … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Directory, Active Directory Domain Services, AD Forest, PowerShell, PowerShell 3.0, Powershell 4.0, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Deploying a Windows Server 2012 R2 Domain Controller in an existing Win2003 Functional Level Domain.

Posted on December 30, 2013 by jbernec

My first task before deploying a Windows Server 2012 R2 Domain Controller in a Windows Server 2003 forest functional level environment was to run the Test-ADDSDomainControllerInstallation cmdlet and determine my domain environment’s readiness to accept the new Windows Server 2012 … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Directory, Active Directory Domain Services, AD Forest, DCPromo, Domain Controller, DSRM, Flexible Single Master Operations, FSMO, NTDSUtil, PowerShell, PowerShell 3.0, Powershell 4.0, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Seizing Active Directory FSMO (Flexible Single Master Operations ) roles with Powershell.

Posted on December 23, 2013 by jbernec

I have been running 2 Virtual Machines as Active Directory Domain Controllers in the Lab for sometime now. DC00 was running Windows Server 2003 R2 and DC01 is running Windows Server 2008 R2. But recently I lost a Hyper-v machine … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Directory, Active Directory Domain Services, AD Forest, Domain Controller, Flexible Single Master Operations, FSMO, NTDSUtil, PowerShell, PowerShell 3.0, Powershell 4.0, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment