Install “Active Directory Users and Computers”

“Active Directory Users and Computers” is a management console used to administer Active Directory (manage users, groups, computers, polices, etc.).

By default, it is deployed on a Windows Server host, when it’s promoted to the domain controller during the “Active Directory Domain Services” role installation.

But the “Active Directory Users and Computers” can also be installed on a Windows computer manually through a graphical user interface (GUI) or using a Windows PowerShell and this note shows how to do this.

Cool Tip: Check if the computer is in a domain! Read more →

Install “Active Directory Users and Computers”

Depending on a way you are trying to start the “Active Directory Users and Computers” you may get one of the following errors if it is not installed:

Windows cannot find ‘dsa.msc’. Make sure you typed name correctly, and then try again.
– or –
‘dsa’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
– or –
dsa : The term ‘dsa’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

Info: The “Active Directory Users and Computers” is a part of “RSAT: Active Directory Domain Services and Lightweight Directory Tools”.

To install the “Active Directory Users and Computers”, it is required to enable the Windows feature, called “RSAT: Active Directory Domain Services and Lightweight Directory Tools”:

  • Go to a “Start” menu, click on “⚙ Settings” and then click on “Apps”
  • Click on “Optional features”
  • In the new window, click on “➕ Add a feature”
  • Select the “RSAT: Active Directory Domain Services and Lightweight Directory Tools” and click on “Install”

Alternatively you can install the “Active Directory Users and Computers” on Windows by enabling the “RSAT: Active Directory Domain Services and Lightweight Directory Tools” using the Windows PowerShell.

To avoid “The requested operation requires elevation” error, start the PowerShell as an administrator: press ⊞ Win keybutton to open the “Start” menu, type in powershell to search for the PowerShell and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to launch it as administrator.

List all the available “Remote Server Administration Tools” (RSAT):

PS C:\> Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Select-Object -Property Name, State

Name                                                          State
----                                                          -----
Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0             NotPresent
Rsat.BitLocker.Recovery.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0                 NotPresent
Rsat.CertificateServices.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0                NotPresent
Rsat.DHCP.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0                               NotPresent
Rsat.Dns.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0                                NotPresent
...

The “Active Directory Users and Computers” tool is included into the “Active Directory Domain Services (DS) and Lightweight Directory Services (LDS) Tools” that is named “Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0” (see the output above of the command above).

So to install the “Active Directory Users and Computers” from the PowerShell, it is required to install the AD DS and LDS tools i.e. “Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0”:

PS C:\> Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name "Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0"

Cool Tip: How to start “Active Directory Users and Computers”! Read more →

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