“Active Directory Users and Computers” MMC snap-in for Windows 7

active-directorywindows 7

Is there an equivalent tool available for use in Windows 7? I just need to browse the membership of some small Active Directory groups that are deep within a huge hierarchy, so I can eventually write code to work with those groups. The Windows Server 2003 version of the installer works, but the resulting MMC snap in just won't start up.

EDIT:
I'd like to preemptively strike against more requests to close the question. This is a tool that I assume many programmers use to assist in programming-related tasks such as testing code that modifies Active Directory content. There are tons of other questions about developer tools here on Stack Overflow.

Best Answer

For Windows Vista and Windows 7 you need to get the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) - the Active Directory Users & Computers Snap-In is included in that pack. Download link: Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7.

Related Solutions

C# – Validate a username and password against Active Directory

If you work on .NET 3.5 or newer, you can use the System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement namespace and easily verify your credentials:

// create a "principal context" - e.g. your domain (could be machine, too)
using(PrincipalContext pc = new PrincipalContext(ContextType.Domain, "YOURDOMAIN"))
{
    // validate the credentials
    bool isValid = pc.ValidateCredentials("myuser", "mypassword");
}

It's simple, it's reliable, it's 100% C# managed code on your end - what more can you ask for? :-)

Read all about it here:

Update:

As outlined in this other SO question (and its answers), there is an issue with this call possibly returning True for old passwords of a user. Just be aware of this behavior and don't be too surprised if this happens :-) (thanks to @MikeGledhill for pointing this out!)

What are the differences between LDAP and Active Directory

Active Directory is a database based system that provides authentication, directory, policy, and other services in a Windows environment

LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is an application protocol for querying and modifying items in directory service providers like Active Directory, which supports a form of LDAP.

Short answer: AD is a directory services database, and LDAP is one of the protocols you can use to talk to it.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

C# – Validate a username and password against Active Directory

What are the differences between LDAP and Active Directory

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