To disable or enable a computer account using the Windows interface

1. To open Active Directory Users and Computers, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Active Directory Users and Computers.

2. In the console tree, click Computers.

   Where?

   • Active Directory Users and Computers\domain node\Computers
     
     

   Or, click the folder that contains the computer account that you want to enable or disable.

3. In the details pane, right-click the desired computer account, and then do one of the following:

   • To disable the account, click Disable Account.
     
     
   • To enable the account, click Enable Account.
     
     

• To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Account Operators group, Domain Admins group, or Enterprise Admins group in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.
  
  
• Another way to open Active Directory Users and Computers is to click Start, click Run, and then type dsa.msc.
  
  
• When you disable a computer account, the computer cannot authenticate to the domain until it has been enabled.
  
  
• You can also perform the task in this procedure by using the Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell. To open the Active Directory module, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell. For more information, see Disable or Enable a Computer Account (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=138389). For more information about Windows PowerShell, see Windows PowerShell (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=102372).
  
  

• Managing Computers
  
  

To disable or enable a computer account using a command line

1. To open a command prompt, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.

2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

   dsmod computer <ComputerDN> -disabled {yes|no}
   

To view the complete syntax for this command, and for information about entering user account information, at a command prompt, type the following, and then press ENTER:

dsmod computer /? 

• To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Account Operators group, Domain Admins group, or the Enterprise Admins group in AD DS, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.
  
  
• When you disable a computer account, the computer account cannot authenticate to the domain until it has been enabled.
  
  
• You can also perform the task in this procedure by using the Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell. To open the Active Directory module, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell. For more information, see Disable or Enable a Computer Account (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=138389). For more information about Windows PowerShell, see Windows PowerShell (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=102372).
  
  

• Managing Computers