Enabling Remote Desktop Connection in Windows 7

By default, remote desktop is not enabled in Windows 7, to enable it, follow these steps :

1. Click on Start   then right click on Computer and then click on Properties
   
   
   
   
2. From the System properties page, on the left pane, click on Remote Settings
   
   
   
   
3. As you can see, Remote Desktop feature is by default not enabled, and the option Don't allow connections to this computer is selected by default.
   
   
   
   
   To enable remote desktop, you have two options:
   • Select Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure) to allow people using any version of Remote Desktop to connect to your computer.
   • Select Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication (more secure) to allow people with computers running versions of Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication to connect to your computer. Network Level Authentication is an authentication method that completes user authentication before you establish a full remote desktop connection and the logon screen appears. To connect to a machine that has the Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication option enabled, the client computer must be running at least Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 and the client computer supports the Credential Security Support Provider (CredSSP) protocol.
   Select the option that you want, depending from which machines you are going to connect to your Windows 7 and then click on OK .
   
   If you want, you can also click on the Select Users ... button and specify which user(s) can connect remotely, others not listed will not be able to remotely connect. However, be informed that users who are members of the Administrators group can connect even if they are not listed.
   
   
   

Note: Remote desktop is only included in the Professional, Business and Ultimate versions of Windows. Home editions do not have remote desktop.

Establishing a Remote Desktop Connection
I will establish a remote desktop connection from my Windows XP machine to my Windows 7 laptop. Be informed that Level Network Authentication in Windows XP is disabled by default, follow this article to enable it : Description of the Credential Security Support Provider (CredSSP) in Windows XP Service Pack 3

1. Click on Start  > All Programs  > Accessories > then click on Remote Desktop Connection
   
2. The Remote Desktop Connection will be opened
   
   
   
   Type the computer name or IP Address of the machine you want to remotely administer, and then click on Connect
   
   
   
   
   Remote Desktop Connection will ask you if you trust the machine you are trying to establish a remote connection to it, if you do, then enable the checkbox beside Don't ask me again for remote connection to this computer and then click Connect
   
   
   
   
3. If you have enabled Network Level Authenticated on the remote machine, then you will be asked to enter the user credentials before being able to establish a complete remote desktop connection
   
   
   
   Once you enter the user credentials ( these are the username and password of a user on the remote machine ), the remote desktop connection will be established

Setting Up an Additional Domain Controller With Windows Server 2008

To set up an Additional Domain Controller, I will use the dcpromo.exe command.

1. To use the command, click on Start   > Run > and then write dcpromo > Click OK
   
   
   
   
2. The system will start checking if Active Directory Domain Services ( AD DS) binaries are installed, then will start installing them. The binaries could be installed if you had run the dcpromo command previously and then canceled the operation after the binaries were installed.
   
                           
   
   
3. The Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard will start, either enable the checkbox beside Use Advanced mode installation and Click Next , or keep it unselected and click on Next
   
   
   
   The following table lists the additional wizard pages that appear for each deployment configuration when you select the Use advanced mode installation check box.

   Deployment configuration	Advanced mode installation wizard pages
   New forest	Domain NetBIOS name
   New domain in an existing forest	On the Choose a Deployment Configuration page, the option to create a new domain tree appears only in advanced mode installation. Domain NetBIOS name Source Domain Controller
   Additional domain controller in an existing domain	Install from Media Source Domain Controller Specify Password Replication Policy (for RODC installation only)
   Create an account for a read-only domain controller (RODC) installation	Specify Password Replication Policy
   Attach a server to an account for an RODC installation	Install from Media Source Domain Controller

   
   
4. The Operating System Compatibility page will be displayed, take a moment to read it and click Next
   
   
   
   
5. On the Choose a Deployment Configuration page, click Existing forest, click Add a domain controller to an existing domain, and then click Next.
   
   
   
   
6. 
   
On the Network Credentials page, type your domain name, my domain name is elmajdal.net ( was set in the previous article ) , so I will type elmajdal.net.
7. To set up an Additional Domain Controller, you will need an account that must be either a member of the Enterprise Admins group or the Domain Admins group. We have two options:

• My Current logged on credentials ( DomainName\Username or MachineName\Username)
• Alternate credentials
  
  
• If you have previously joined this server to the domain and you are currently logged in to it with an
Enterprise Admin/Domain Admin user, then you can use the first option (My current logged on credentials) . As you can see this option is grayed here, and the reason for this is below it. It is because I'm currently logged in with a local user, the machine is not a domain member. I'm left out with the second option: Alternate credentials

8. To enter the Alternate credentials, click Set. In the Windows Security dialog box, enter the user name and password for an account that must be either a member of the Enterprise Admins group or the Domain Admins group > then click Next.
   
   
   
   
   
   If you have entered a wrong username/password , you will receive the following error message
   
   
   
   
9. 
   
On the Select a Domain page, select the domain of the Additional Domain Controller, and then click Next, as I already have only one domain, then it will be selected by default.
10. 
    
On the Select a Site page, either enable the checkbox beside Use the site that corresponds to the IP address of this computer, this will install the domain controller in the site that corresponds to its IP address, or select a site from the list and then click Next. If you only have one domain controller and one site, then you will have the first option grayed and the site will be selected by default as shown in the following image
11. 
    
On the Additional Domain Controller Options page, By default, the DNS Server and Global Catalog checkboxes are selected. You can also select your additional domain controller to be a Read-only Domain Controller (RODC) by selecting the checkbox beside it. My primary domain controller is a DNS Server is well, and this can be verified by reading the additional information written in the below image, that there is currently 1 DNS server that is registered as an authoritative name server for this domain. I do want my Additional DC to be a DNS server and a Global catalog, so I will keep the checkboxes selected. Click Next
12. If you select the option to install DNS server in the previous step, then you will receive a message that indicates a DNS delegation for the DNS server could not be created and that you should manually create a DNS delegation to the DNS server to ensure reliable name resolution. If you are installing an additional domain controller in either the forest root domain (or a tree root domain) , you do not need to create the DNS delegation. In this case, you can safely ignore the message and click Yes.
    
    
    
    
13. In the Install from Media page ( will be displayed if you have selected Use advanced mode installation on the Welcome page, if you didn't select it, then skip to step # 15), you can choose to either replicate data over the network from an existing domain controller, or specify the location of installation media to be used to create the domain controller and configure AD DS. I want to replicate data over the network, so I will choose the first option > click Next
    
    
    
    
14. On the Source Domain Controller page of the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard, you can select which domain controller will be used as a source for data that must be replicated during installation, or you can have the wizard select which domain controller will be used as the source for this data. You have two options :

• Let the wizard choose an appropriate domain controller
• Use this specific domain controller
  
  
  
  If you want to choose from the list, any domain controller can be the installation partner. However, the following restrictions apply to the domain controllers that can be used as an installation partner in other situations:
  • A read-only domain controller (RODC) can never be an installation partner.
  • If you are installing an RODC, only a writable domain controller that runs Windows Server 2008 can be an installation partner.
  • If you are installing an additional domain controller for an existing domain, only a domain controller for that domain can be an installation partner.

15. Now you will have to specify the location where the domain controller database, log files and SYSVOL are stored on the server.
    The database stores information about the users, computers and other objects on the network. the log files record activities that are related to AD DS, such information about an object being updated. SYSVOL stores Group Policy objects and scripts. By default, SYSVOL is part of the operating system files in the Windows directory
    
    Either type or browse to the volume and folder where you want to store each, or accept the defaults and click on Next
    
    
    
    Note : Windows Server Backup backs up the directory service by volume. For backup and recovery efficiency, store these files on separate volumes that do not contain applications or other nondirectory files.
    
16. In the Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Password (DSRM) page, write a password and confirm it. This password is used when the domain controller is started in Directory Services Restore Mode, which might be because Active Directory Domain Services is not running, or for tasks that must be performed offline.
    
    
    
    Make sure the password meet the password complexity requirements of the password policy, that is a password that contains a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. else you will receive the following message  :
    
    
    
    
17. Summary page will be displayed showing you all the setting that you have set . It gives you the option to export the setting you have setup into an answer file for use to automate subsequent AD DS operations, if you wish to have such file, click on the Export settings button and save the file. Then click Next to begin AD DS installation
    
    
    
    
18. Active Directory Domain Services installation will be completed, click Finish, then click on Restart Now to restart your server for the changes to take effect.
    
    
    
    
    
    

• Open Active Directory Users & Computers, and then click on the Domain Controllers Organizational Unit, and you will see your Additional Domain Controller along with your Primary Domain Controller.
  
  
  
  

Summary

Additional domain controllers improve the performance of authentication requests and global catalog server lookups. They also help Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) overcome hardware, software, or administrator errors. When you add a domain controller, information is replicated over the network.

Windows Server 2008 Initial Configuration Tasks

This article was written when Windows Server 2008 was still RC1. Changes might occur later once the product is RTM'd 

Once you get through the setup process and finish installing a clean installation of Windows Server 2008 ( in a clean installation I mean the Custom Installation and not the upgrade installations, as you will not receive the Initial Configuration Tasks page with an upgrade installation), you will have a page that says The User's password must be changed before logging on the first time .

If you clicked on OK, you will be asked to provide a new password and confirm it, make sure to create a complex password.

Logon with the administrator account. Initial Configuration Tasks will open , ICT has three sections:

1. Provide Computer Information
2. Update This Server
3. Customize This Server
   
   

1. Provide Computer Information : It has the following configurations to be set

• Set time zone
• Configure networking
• Provide computer name and domain

• Set Time Zone: By default it is set to pacific central time, change it to your time zone.
  
  Click on Set time zone , if the date and time are not set properly, then click on Change date and time button to set them, to change the time zone which as I said earlier it is GMT-08:00 by default, click on Change time zone button and choose your correct time zone from the drop down list > Click OK > OK
  
  
  
  
  
  The new time will be reflect inside ICT page
  
  
  
• Configure networking: is step number two in section one, assign your server with a static IP address, or leave it blank if you use DHCP.
  To assign your server a static IP, click on Configure networking, the Network Connections page will open, right click on the network card you want to configure > click on properties > click on Internet Protocol Version 4 ( TCP/IPv4) > Click on Properties > choose Use the following IP address and fill the IP/SM/DG/DNS as required > then click OK > OK
  
  
  
  Once you set it, you will notice that changes are reflected inside ICT
  
  
• 
  
Provide computer name and domain: The last step in section one is giving a meaningful name to your server machine, join it to the appropriate workgroup or domain. Click on Provide computer name and domain, as you can see the machine has a long name, lets change it to something meaningful. Under the Computer Name tab, click on the Change button, and give your computer a meaningful name. By default it is joined to a workgroup called Workgroup, if you want to change the workgroup name, write a new name, then click OK. if you want to join it to a domain, enable the radio button  beside Domain, and then write the domain name, then click OK. For the time being I will not join it to a domain, as I want to set this server my Domain Controller future article. Once you click the OK button you will receive a message that the computer must be restarted, close the system properties page, then click on Restart Now to apply the changes. Once you logon to your machine, ICT will open and you can see the new machine name listed inside ICT. with this we have finished section one inside ICT

2. Update This Server : It has the following configurations to be set

• Enable automatic updating and feedback
• Download and install updates
  
  
• Enable automatic updating and feedback : It is all about sending and receiving feedback data, and downloading/installing windows update.
  
  Once you click on it, you will receive a box to configure enabling manual or automatic configurations for sending error reports back to Microsoft, downloading and installating the latest updates , and allowing Microsoft to collect anonymous usage information.
  
  
  
  If you clicked on Enable Windows automatic updating and feedback (recommended), the  Windows automatic updating, Windows error reporting, customer experience improvement program, will be turned on by default.
  
  if you don't want to enable all these, then click on Manually configure settings in the first box you received, then click on the Change Setting button and then turn off the settings that you do not wish them to be enabled.
  
  
  
  Under Windows automatic updating, if you clicked on the Change Settings button, you can change the setting shown in the below image
  
  
  
  Under Windows Error Reporting, if you clicked on the Change Settings button, you can change the setting shown in the below image
  
  
  
  Under Customer Experience Improvement Program, if you clicked on the Change Settings button, you can change the setting shown in the below image
  
  
  
  
Download and install updates : you can check for updates, or you can change the windows updates settings by clicking from the left side on Change settings, you will receive the same settings page we had seen earlier in the Enable automatic updating and feedback options

3. Customize This Server : It has the following configuration options

• Add roles
• Add features
• Enable Remote Desktop
• Configure Windows Firewall

• All these tasks and more can be configured with a single console called Server Manager that I am going to talk about it in future articles by installing few features/roles.

• Add roles:  By default, the server does not have any role, to configure this server with a role, click on Add Roles, you will receive the Before you begin page, take a moment to read it and then click on Next.
  
  
  
  You can then choose which role you want to install, for example Active Directory Domain Services, DNS Server, DHCP Server and so on. For the purpose of this article, I am not going to configure any role or feature. As I have said earlier, I will configure few features and roles later on with future articles.
  
  
  
  
• Add Features: Also once you have a clean install of Windows Server 2008, the server will not have any feature installed on it, you can install features by clicking on Add features, you will have a list of all the available features, select any by enabling the checkbox beside the feature(s) you desire to install and then click on the Next button to continue with the wizard.
  
  
  
  
• Remote Desktop : It is disabled by default, and you will need to enable it if you wish to remotely control this server.
  
  
  
  
• Configure Windows Firewall : The Windows Firewall by default is turned on, if you desire to change any setting, click on Change Settings
  
  
  
  
• To have a summary of all the configurations you have set on your server, click on Print, e-mail, or save this information.
  
  
  
  An html page will open and will display for you all the configurations you have set, you can print , e-mail or save this information.
  
  This page resides inside the following folder:
  
  
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\ServerManager\InitialConfigurationTasks.html Where C is the drive you have Windows Server installed on, and Administrator is the name of the user you are logging with. Last note, that is if you have enabled the option Do not show this windows at logon you will not receive the Initial Configuration Tasks at the next logon, if you wish to launch the ICT again, all you have to do is to go to Start > Run > oobe