19

I would like to find groups and check the members inside AD, if possible using a tree view type of structure. I do not have RDC access to the DC, so I can't login and use Active Directory Users and Computers Snap in.

Is there another way to do this? From another server on the domain that is not a DC?

1
  • you can just execute rundll32 dsquery,OpenQueryWindow (from the Run window for example). This will show a search box and allow you to browse various AD Objects
    – Xavier C
    Jun 23, 2022 at 22:44

8 Answers 8

9

You need Windows Remote Administration Tools installed on a client workstation. It will allow you to manage the domain without having to login to the Domain Controllers.

You didn't specify what you're running, so I'll qualify my link saying it's the tools to be installed on Win7 to manage a 2008 server.

1
  • 1
    Starting with Windows 10 October 2018 Update, RSAT is included as a set of "Features on Demand" in Windows 10 itself.
    – OrangeDog
    Jan 20, 2021 at 11:09
33

You can do this in a limited fashion in Windows 10 (and 7-8) without installing anything extra. Open File Explorer, select Network, and you should see a button in the toolbar labeled "Search Active Directory".

Depending on your permissions, it will let you search users and groups by name, and view the membership of those. It won't show you a tree though; you have to know what you're looking for.

Update 2020-11-18: This option is now disabled for myself & some others; I don't know if it's my company's AD / GPO settings, or whether Microsoft has disabled this in recent builds of Windows 10.

"Search Active Directory"

7
  • This works on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 as well Jul 29, 2016 at 19:21
  • RSAT won't install in Windows 10 for me anymore, so this really saved me!
    – jimtut
    Nov 8, 2019 at 19:00
  • My "Search Active Directory" button has recently been grayed out.
    – Jess
    Nov 17, 2020 at 21:14
  • 2
    Still there and working for me (20H2). However, the user properties only shows a subset and not e.g. group membership.
    – OrangeDog
    Jan 20, 2021 at 11:06
  • 1
    Unfortunately not there in Windows 11.
    – Jguy
    May 4, 2022 at 14:05
5

To get a list of AD users from a Windows PC belonging to AD:

  1. right click on a file
  2. Security tab: Edit
  3. Add: set these fields
    1. Object Types=Users
    2. From this location: <your AD domain name>
  4. Advanced
  5. Find Now
2

You could install the Server 2003 Admin Pack on your PC and use the AD Users and Computers Snap-In from your workstation. If you are running Vista/ Windows 7 you will need to enable the RSAT feature (Control Panel> Programs and Features> Turn Windows Features on or off) and select the AD DS and AD LDS Tools feature under "Role admin tools", under RSAT.

1

You can use Active Directory Explorer (ADExplorer) by Mark Russinovich:

1

You can use these commands:

net user /domain
net group /domain

To get the users in a specific group (doesn't seem to work recursively):

net group <GROUP> /domain

To get details for a user:

net user <USER> /domain
0

On my machine the Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell was installed. So I ran this command to get info on a specific user:

Get-AdUser username

0

Here are three ways to do this in a GUI without downloading anything:

  1. Like Xavier C says, just run this command:

    rundll32 dsquery,OpenQueryWindow
    
  2. Search Start for 'Windows Tools' and open it. In the left pane click 'Network'. Now the ribbon at the top should show 'Search Active Directory'.

  3. Install and use the RSAT 'Active Directory Users and Computers'. I've seen some (like jimtut) say they can't get it installed. I suspect that's because they're trying to do it by running the RSAT MSU file. That's how it was done prior to Win10 1809. Now you do it using 'System' --> 'Optional Features'. Or just use PowerShell like this:

    Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name 'Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0'
    

If that doesn't work for you, see my detailed paper on this here: https://www.clarkmercer.com/RSATon1809Plus.pdf

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