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Why does GPResult say Domain Type: Windows 2000 on a Server 2008 R2 domain?

Using Group Policy, you will likely use Resultant Set of Policies and GPResult to see how group policies are being applied to a user or computer. They are great tools for troubleshooting and ensuring your policies are landing correctly for your clients. One field in GPResult might cause you to do a double-take if you look closely. The output of gpresult will list the Group Policy Objects applying to the computer, the logged in user, and other domain information. In that other domain information is a field labeled ‘Domain Type:’ and its information is likely not accurate for your domain.

It seems the Domain Type field can show two different values ‘Windows 2000’ or ‘WindowsNT 4’. It does not seem to matter if you are connected to a Windows Server 2003, 2008, or 2008 R2 functional level domain, it will still show those values. It seems the reasoning is that gpresult has not been updated since before Server 2003 or if it was that field was ignored or deprecated.

One way to get the accurate information of your domain’s functional level is to use the MMC snap-in: Active Directory Users and Computers or the Group Policy Management Console. Then, drill down to your domain. Right-click on the domain you wish to know about and go to Properties. The screen that pops up will tell you the domain and forest functional levels.

There you have it, Windows Server 2008 R2 confirmed. It should be safe to ignore the incorrect “Domain Type” field listed in gpresult.