Skip to main content

Active Directory Module Cmdlets will not Work

By

On PowerShell.com today, I noticed an IT pro that was not able to get the Get-ADGroupMember cmdlet to work, but was able to utilized an [ADSI] query.  He recently acquired his first Windows Server 2008 R2 Domain Controllers.  My first thoughts went to the Active Directory Web Services. This is service is what the Active Directory Module for PowerShell uses and must be running on at least one of your Domain Controllers.  When I shut down this service and then attempted to access a groups membership, I received the following:

PS C:\> Get-ADGroupMember -Identity "Domain Admins"

 

Get-ADGroupMember : Unable to find a default server with Active Directory Web Services running.

At line:1 char:1

+ Get-ADGroupMember -Identity "Domain Admins"

+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    + CategoryInfo          : ResourceUnavailable: (Domain Admins:ADGroup) [Get-ADGroupMember], ADServerDownException

    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : ActiveDirectoryServer:1355,Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.Commands.GetADGroupMember

 

He did not provide the full error message, but the last line matched what he provided.  Since it appears that the Service is not running, I asked him to go to each DC to verify it and if so, start it.

A good safety for you is to make sure that multiple Domain Controllers are running this service so that any scheduled tasks that rely on it will always be able to access the Active Directory database.  To get an idea who which on your Domain Controllers are running this service, try this command:

1

2

3

Get-ADDomainController |

    Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name |

    ForEach-Object {Get-Service -Name ADWS -ComputerName $_}

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to run GPResult on a remote client with PowerShell

By
In the past, to run the GPResult command, you would need to either physically visit this client, have the user do it, or use and RDP connection.  In all cases, this will disrupt the user.  First, you need PowerShell remoting enabled on the target machine.  You can do this via Group Policy . Open PowerShell and type this command. Invoke-Command –ScriptBlock {GPResult /r} –ComputerName <ComputerName> Replace <ComputerName> with the name of the target.  Remember, the target needs to be online and accessible to you.
Post a Comment
Read more

Set up your Environment to utilize Invoke-GPUpdate

By
I’m sitting in O’Hare enjoying my 3 hour layover as I get ready to teach a Windows 10 class in Fort Wayne.  I’m actually prepping for my class in Fort Wayne in a few weeks, 10982 Supporting and Troubleshooting Windows 10.  This class is very much like the Windows 7 version that I used to teach so I decided to up the detail quite a bit.  In the GPO troubleshootin chapter, I’m including a demonstration on how to use PowerShell’s Invoke-GPUpdate.  I needed to make sure the environment is set up for me to be able to utilize this cmdlet.  If you read the Notes section on Invoke-GPUpdate’s help file, you will see there are three firwall rules that need to be in place:          Remote Scheduled Tasks Management (RPC)          Remote Scheduled Tasks Management (RPC-ERMAP)          Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI-IN) I decided to create a little PowerShell script to crea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Where did a User’s Account Get Locked Out?

By
Updated: May 15, 2015 When this article was originally published, two extra carriage returns were add causing the code to malfunction.  The code below is correct.   My client for this week’s PowerShell class had a really interesting question. They needed to know where an account is being locked out at. OK, interesting. Apparently users hop around clients and forget to log off, leading to eventual lock out of their accounts. The accounts can be unlocked, but are then relocked after Active Directory replication. This problem is solved in two parts. The first one is to modify the event auditing on the network. The second part is resolved with PowerShell. The first part involves creating a group policy that will encompass your Domain Controllers. In this GPO, make these changes. Expand Computer Configuration \ Policies \ Windows Settings \ Security Settings \ Advanced Audit Policy Configuration \ Audit Policies \ Account Management Double click User Account Management C...
18 comments
Read more