Hello, i am new to servers and am encountering some issues. I have been given an old Compaq proliant server which has Windows Server 2003 installed on it, Here are some details... System: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition Service Pack 2 Computer: Intel(R) Pentium(R) II processor 248MHz, 448 MB of RAM But it has a domain setup and a load of users and i would prefer to get rid of everything and run a fresh copy of windows server 2003, (This is my first server and i am using it to learn more about servers) the issue i have is with the server i was given a CD with Windows 2003 Server wrote on it and a serial key, but it also had the DOMAIN.Local on it, i am not sure if this is just a backup disk, (i assume it is) or a install disk. is there any way to do a clean install without the disk, or maybe a factory reset, otherwise how can i get rid of everything so it is exactly like a newly installed version? Thanks for all the help in advance, Cameron.

In order to clean install you'll need to get hold of the Windows Server installation media. There's really no other way. Regards, Dave Patrick .... Microsoft Certified Professional Microsoft MVP [Windows] Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.

Could i use this but still use my product key? http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=21700 Or do i need the Windows Server 2003 ISO first then the sp2? Thanks for the quick reply.

That is a service pack download. If you have a valid retail product key then you should be able to replace media here. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326246 Regards, Dave Patrick .... Microsoft Certified Professional Microsoft MVP [Windows] Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.

is it not just possible to get an ISO to burn onto a dvd then install onto my server using my product key...? (I don't really know what im looking for on that page you linked me to...) Thanks

As far as I know not possible. For retail you can contact them here. United States: (800) 360-7561, Monday through Friday, 5:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. Pacific Time. If it is OEM then I think you need to contact the hardware vendor. Regards, Dave Patrick .... Microsoft Certified Professional Microsoft MVP [Windows] Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.

I'm from UK, Thanks for all of your help but it think i will just try to manually take the domain out and then i guess i will learn a bit more about it myself. Thank you, Cameron

You're welcome. Be sure to write down the new local administrator account when you dcpromo / demote it. Or if it's a member server be sure to set the local administrator password to something you know. Regards, Dave Patrick .... Microsoft Certified Professional Microsoft MVP [Windows] Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.

Hi, If you want to clean install, i think you need to use Windows Server installtion media. And if you want to manually demote the domain controller, you can use the dcpromo /demote, the detail information you can refer to the link: Demote a domain controller: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc740017(v=ws.10).aspx Hope this help! Regards. Vivian Wang TechNet Community Support

Hi, If you want to clean install, i think you need to use Windows Server installtion media. And if you want to manually demote the domain controller, you can use the dcpromo /demote, the detail information you can refer to the link: Demote a domain controller: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc740017(v=ws.10).aspx Hope this help! Regards. Vivian Wang TechNet Community Support