Understanding Active Directory Account Cleanup
Wizard
Active Directory Account Cleanup Wizard is a utility designed to
merge duplicate Windows NT accounts that are created when multiple
directories are migrated or upgraded to Active
Directory. These scenarios can include upgrading to
Windows 2000, upgrading to Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, using
third-party mail connectors, and migrating from third-party mail
systems. Removing duplicate accounts in Windows 2000 Active
Directory can help improve performance of your servers running
Exchange.
Active Directory Account Cleanup Wizard searches Active
Directory for duplicate Windows NT accounts that represent the same
user. The wizard then suggests merge operations that eliminate the
duplicates. You can also verify the individual merge operations.
Finally, the wizard merges various account types, their attributes,
and their properties into a single user account.
Note You can also manually
select the objects and the exact merge operations that you want the
wizard to perform.
Key Features of the Active Directory Account Cleanup
Wizard
Active Directory Account Cleanup Wizard allows you to:
Identify duplicate
objects to be merged. You can have the wizard search Active
Directory for possible duplicate Windows NT accounts, or you can
manually select the duplicate accounts you want to merge.
Export and
import lists of accounts. This functionality gives you the
flexibility to export a list of merge operations (pairs of
duplicate accounts) into a .csv file so you can import them back to
Active Directory Account Cleanup Wizard for further review. Then at
a later time, you can run the merge process.
Exchange 2000 relies heavily on Active Directory for
configuration and Address
Book information. When possible, you should upgrade the
primary Domain Controller to Windows
2000 and Active Directory before deploying Exchange 2000. This
reduces the creation of duplicate accounts in Active Directory. In
large organizations this may not be possible, and the Exchange 2000
deployments and upgrades can occur even though user account domains
are still running on Windows NT version 4.0. In this situation, you
need to use Active Directory Account Cleanup Wizard to remove
duplicate accounts after the Windows NT 4.0 accounts domain has
been upgraded to Windows 2000.