Using the Active Directory Powershell module with Windows Server 2003

In order to perform this you will need to firstly install Powershell 2.0 on the server 2003 instance:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=4045

Unfortunately we have to issue our powershell commands from a Windows 7 (or Server 2008 R2+) if we wish to use the 'ActiveDirectory' module.

Ensure that the following hotfix is installed on the Server 2003 instance:

*** Firstly ensure that the LATEST version of the .NET framework is installed before proceeding! ***

You should also install the hotfix for .NET Framework 3.5.1 (KB969166) which can be downloaded below:

http://thehotfixshare.net/board/index.php?autocom=downloads&showfile=20161

and install the following on the server 2003 instance:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=2852

In order to perform this on the Windows 7 machine we should firstly download and install the Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 from:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7887

Proceed by activating the feature from: Control Panel >> Programs and Features >> 'Turn Windows features on or off' >> Remote Server Administration Tools >> Role Administration Tools >> AD FS and AD LDS Tools >> and ensure that the 'Active Directory Module for Windows Powershell' node is ticked.

We proceed by launching powershell from cmd on our Windows 7 box:

powershell.exe

Import our AD module with:

Import-Module ActiveDirectory

You should then be able to run your AD related commands e.g.:

Search-AdAccount -LockedOut -SearchBase "OU=myou,DC=my,DC=domain" -Server mydomaincontroller | Unlock-AdAccount

This will search an OU for locked accounts on a specific server, display them and then automatically unlock them for you.