I am transitioning from a Windows 2000 SP4 Server running Exchange 2000 to a Windows 2008 Server running Exchange 2007. I have done all of the necessary AD Prep and have one final issue to overcome before I can continue with my Exchange 2007 installation: When running setup /PrepareLegacyExchangePermissions the Org Check Fails stating the "The schema master 'domainname' is running Windows 2000 and must be upgraded to Windows 2003 SP1." The knowledgebase article on this problem suggests running "winnt32.exe" from Windows 2003 server setup diskwhich reports "Exchange 2000 is incompatible with this version of Windows"Do I have to upgrade to Exchange 2003 first before upgrading to Server 2003? Or can I just perform the Server 2003 upgrade and ignore the incompatibility issue to overcome the "Schema Master" issue on my 2008 Server/Exchange 2007 box? I'd like to proceed with the transition with the fewest steps possible and least amount of downtime. Theultimate goal isto decomission the 2000 Server/Exchange box as soon as the mailboxes, public calendars, public contacts are up on the Exchange 2007 system. Appreciate the advice.

Hi,Please ensure that you have Exchange 2000 SP3 of higher. Because it generates the warning you will need to upgrade your schema master to Windows 2003 SP1 as stated in the message. With Exchange 2000 SP3 it should be possible to have a Windows 2003 domain in your organization and keep Exchange 2000 running, see this article: http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?kbid=321648Regards,Johan blog: www.johanveldhuis.nl

Hi Johan,Thank you for your response. So I'm clear on this: I am only running a Windows 2000 DC (SP4), which I have upgraded to Windows 2003 DC per this KB article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/325379. So according to the last step in that KB article need to run winnt32.exe to complete the upgrade, yet the compatibility check during the 2003 install reports that Exchange 2000 is not compatible. According to the KB article you posted, are you saying I should still be able to perform the upgrade to 2003 Server without it affecting my existing Exchange installation on my 2000 box? Again, I really just need to transition to Exchange 2007 but the only thing preventing the transition is a problem with the Schema Master running with Windows 2003 Server SP1.Really appreciate your advice.Bob

Bob,No you only need to upgrade your domain controllers. As stated with the wizard check that the Schema Master is Windows 2003 SP1. To check what you current schema master is perform the following steps: Open the Active Directory Schema snap-in. In the console tree, right-click Active Directory Schema, and then click Operations Master. Under Current Schema Master, view the current schema operations master. Regards,Johanblog: www.johanveldhuis.nl

hi,exchange server 2000 is not supported on windows server 2003. so you must upgrade Exchange server 2000 to 2003 before. then you can upgrade or migrate to Exchange Server 2007 successfully.and update your schema carefully.just look at here ;http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc751227.aspxregards,Mumin CICEK | Exchange - MVP | www.cozumpark.com | www.mumincicek.com

Agree with Mumim Resources: Upgrading from Exchange 2000 Server to Exchange Server 2003 Software Requirements for Previous Versions of Exchange section in Exchange 2007 System Requirements

Mumim,Your right that you can't install it on Windows 2003 server but you can run it in an environment with a 2003 DC see this article:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/321648As the warning talking about the GC the DC's should be updated to 2003.Regards,Johanblog: www.johanveldhuis.nl

yeah i know it johan, thanks...regards,Mumin CICEK | Exchange - MVP | www.cozumpark.com | www.mumincicek.com

Thanks for all the input. I didn't see any other way to accomplish this other than to upgrade the 2000 Server box to 2003. So I've forged ahead with the upgrade. And now we are officially dead in the water. 2003 Server hangs on Installing Devices at 37 minutes remaining and has stayed that way for 12 hours. Struggling with this one and would just prefer to setup the 2007 Exchange box and import user e-mails and public contacts/calendars. Can I just pull the data from the MTSDATA folder and import to Exchange 2007. This is a single DC org so the mail's not flowing. Thoughts?

Quote: I didn't see any other way to accomplish this other than to upgrade the 2000 Server box to 2003 Did you upgrade the exchange 2000 to exchange 2003 before the windows server upgrade? We may introduce a brand new windows server 2003 SP1 for the ADPrep

Hi James,No. According to all I've read I just needed to upgrade the server OS not Exchange to make the transition to Exchange 2007.Right now my Windows 2003 Server Upgrade is stalled because it cannot find the expected $winnt$.inf file (according to setupapi.log)Bob