Windows 2003 To Win 2012 Migration

Gimmyno

Hi Guys,

I'm having few issues migrating a Win 2003 Server SP2 DC to Win 2012 Server Essentials.

I've raised the Domain functional level to 2003 on the old Server and joined the Windows 2012 server to the existing domain but the Server is stuck on "Please wait" for about 30 mins (everytime I restart the server) then I can type my username and password but it won't log me in...(Stuck at the Welcome Screen)

Any suggestion?

Thanks,

googol

I assume you did adprep /forestprep and adprep /domainprep first? There is no 32 bit adprep anymore, so it has to be run on 64 bit system. If the 2003 server above is not 64 bit, then run it on a 2008R2 server remotely.

Gimmyno

I did run them...

googol

I would reboot and disconnect it from the network, should come up quickly. Log in and check out the logs and hopefully they give you an idea. Can run into safe mode, run minimalistic "clean boot" and work your way back.

Qord

Local or domain user account?

BGraves

Could you be more clear here?
You currently have a Server 2003 DC/Domain/Forest functional level?
You attempted to add a server 2012 to the domain, and when you try to log in using a domain username/pass you get "please wait" ?
Are you unable to even get to the login screen? (Tried safe mode? Tried Reinstalling?)
If the above is true, you should be able to try logging in with the server 2012 local account. I would then check event logs and determine what the issue was, fully update server 2012 if possible as well as lots of bugs, and check network connectivity.
Server 2012 automatically runs Adprep when starting to add the DC role/features, so it "Should" auto upgrade the schema and etc IF you are a member of the appropriate group. Having said that, I'd still run it manually from the 2012 installation media.
Link that might help:
Upgrading an Active Directory Domain from Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2003 R2 to Windows Server 2012 - MWeber's Blog

Good luck, hope it works out for you!

ptilsen

I am not finding any supported upgraded options from Windows Server 2003 to 2012 Essentials. The only thing I can find is SBS 2003, but it might just be that MS decided individual non-SBS editions did not warrant their own articles. Here's what I did find that will be relevant.
Migrate Windows Small Business Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012 Essentials
Migrating to Windows Server 2012 Essentials <-- This in particular and its link, Migrate from Previous Versions to Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials, is what you should be following since you're coming from 2003 Datacenter.

In any case, if you did not install Server 2012 Essentials in migration mode, you will certainly not be able to proceed. Server 2012 Essentials cannot be joined to a domain except for migration, and if you've managed to join it to the domain without having installed it in migration mode, that's probably as far as you can get. If you did install it in migration mode and are getting stuck, there are a few potential issues. First, you need to have run the Migration Preparation Tool as described in the Technet blog, and in general the source server must be healthy. This means FRS is working (even if no other DCs currently exist); no file system errors (run chkdsk) are present; there is sufficient free space for normal operations; DNS is functioning as expected. On that note, if you configured a static IP on the destination server but did not configure DNS properly, it could certainly cause this issue. A firewall between source or destination could also cause the issue.

I'll reiterate that you must use migration mode. The link BGraves listed and advice to run ADPrep is not relevant to the migration you are attempting. Necessary AD steps are performed automatically by the prep tool, and you will not be able to follow the same migration steps as you would for Server 2012 Standard or above.

Also, it's worth ensuring Essentials is what you really want. I find it highly unusual you'd be going from Datacenter to Essentials. Standard I could see, as non-SBS single-server implementations are not uncommon, but Datacenter to Essentials is a real oddity.

BGraves

Any update here Gimmyno?
I don't have the exp with Essentials that ptilsen has, so I'd start with his advice first! Definitely agree though, are you sure you want to transition to Server 2012 Essentials?