How to change the description set on disabled users by the ADC

When the Active Directory Connector (ADC) creates disabled accounts in Active Directory, the description of the account is set to Disabled Windows User Account. This behavior occurs so that the administrator knows that this account is not meant to be used as a logon-enabled account, but that it was created by the ADC to import mailbox information from an Exchange 5.5 directory.

It is possible to change the behavior of the ADC to either leave the description blank, or to write a different description when creating a disabled user account. To do so, add a value to the registry on the computer that is running the ADC, and then set the value to the desired description:

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. Locate the following key in the registry:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSADC\Parameters\
3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following registry value:
   Value Name: Disabled Windows User Account Description
   Data Type: REG_SZ
   Value: (Your Description Here)
4. Quit Registry Editor.

If you set a blank in the value, then the ADC will not write any description on the disabled user.

Note Making these changes modifies the behavior of any new accounts that will be created and does not modify any existing accounts that have been created by the ADC. You must restart the Active Directory Connector service before the registry key will take effect.