Resetting passwords in Windows 7

[Ric_]

Does anybody have a nice solution for delegated control of changing passwords in Windows 7?

 

In XP, I installed adminpak.msi and then created a nice little taskpad view ion a MMC.

 

In Windows 7, you have to install a 220MB .MSU to install the RSAT tools and then you have to activate the AD DS Administration features before you can use your MMC. This sounds like too much hassle.

 

What are other people doing?

[pritchardavid]

Why do you find that solution too much hassle, how many computers do you do this on?

[DrCheese]

If you have a terminal server, you could use TS remote application mode... so far we've just been putting up with installing the RSA tools on the teaching console in each room, but I may look at another way as the update takes a while to install on some systems.

[PiqueABoo]

I'm not like to do this in the near future sorry, but that would take ~ 50 lines of a dotNet forms app.

 

Read a couple of registry (policy key) settings to tell you which OU(s) and maybe which group(s) you delegated the AD rights to, an AD check of whatever account name the user types in, and then password reset itself - a perfect little project for someone who has done the beginner stuff and now wants to tackle something a bit more useful.

[tarquel]

Dunno if it helps but there is the Active Directory Administrative Center that has a password reset panel (as well as a neat AD global search panel) on the Overview/Welcome screen. Suppose its a bit like a skinned version of the bare AD DS Administration tool.

 

Without looking, its another option in the RSAT features... you "may" be able to install just this (as opposed to just the main tool and/or both), but naturally you need the RSAT MSU installed/slipsteamed/other

 

Cheers

Nath

[Ric_]

Why do you find that solution too much hassle, how many computers do you do this on?

 

Approx. 90 machines as a minimum and installing over 200MB of MSU really seems excessive just to be able to change a password.

 

If you have a terminal server, you could use TS remote application mode... so far we've just been putting up with installing the RSA tools on the teaching console in each room, but I may look at another way as the update takes a while to install on some systems.

 

The problem there is the time it would take to launch the application... I can hear the complaints already! (It would also make people less lkikely to use the tool).

 

Dunno if it helps but there is the Active Directory Administrative Center that has a password reset panel (as well as a neat AD global search panel) on the Overview/Welcome screen. Suppose its a bit like a skinned version of the bare AD DS Administration tool.

 

Without looking, its another option in the RSAT features... you "may" be able to install just this (as opposed to just the main tool and/or both), but naturally you need the RSAT MSU installed/slipsteamed/other

 

It is part of the RSAT and it is basically a MMC that combines all the snapins for you.

[Ric_]

^ Bump... anybody?