Shutdown Event Tracker on Windows Server 2003

Windows server 2003 requests a reason when you try to shutdown your server. For a development or Test environment, this process consumes some times as multiple restart of a server is necessary. To stop the above process, kindly follow the steps mentioned below:

• Click Start-->Run, and type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
• Expand Computer Configuration -->Administrative Templetes. Click on the System Object.
• Locate and double-click the Shutdown Event Tracker Settings. Click on the disable button to disable the Shutdown event tracker. Click OK and close the Group Policy Editor console.

When you shut down your server, you won't be asked to enter a reason.

Restoring Active Directory on Windows Server 2003

• When you restore the Active Directory, you can only restore all the system state data which was backed up, including the registry, the COM+ class registration database, system boot files, files under Windows NT protection, the sysvol and Active Directory (only if the server is a DC) and the Certificate Service Database ( if the Certificate Service is installed on the same server). You can not restore only the indivisual component of the system state data.


• You must be a member of the Administrator group or Backup Operator group to perform the Active Directory Restore.


• Active directory restoration can be performed in one of the two ways: They are: Authoratative mode and Non-authoratative mode.


• The default mode of restoring the system state data to a domain controller is Non-authoratative.


• In a Non-authoratative restore, the distributed services on a domain controller are restored from backup media and the restored data is then updated through normal replication. In this case, after you restored the domain controller, any changes made to the server after the backup, will be updated from other servers. Non-authoratative restore is typically performed after a domain controller is completely failed due to hardware or software failure.


• An Authoratative Restore brings a domain or a container back to the state it was in at the time of backup and overwrites all changes made since last backup. If you don't want to replicate the changes that have been made subsequent to the last backup operation, you must perform an authoratative restore. To authoratatively restore Active Directory data, you must run Ntdsutil utility after you performed a nonauthoratative restore of the system state data but before you restart your server.


• When you restart your computer in directory service restore mode, you must log on as an administrator by using the valid Secutiry Account Manager (SAM) account name and password, not the active directory administrator's name and password. This is because Active Directory is offline and account verification cannot occur. Rather, the SAM accounts database is used to control access to Active Directory while it is offline.
• By default, passwords are reset after seven days; except for computer accounts. The previous password is also maintained. Therefore, performing authoratative restore with a backup older than 14 days can affect the trust relationship.