Question

Can some post the way to know if a particular user is a deactivated user in the windows ad ?

Answer 1

If you’re on .NET 3.5 or can upgrade to .NET 3.5 – have a look at the new System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement namespace which makes lots of these operations a breeze. See Managing Directory Security Principals in the .NET Framework 3.5 for an intro.

In your case, you could write your code something like this:

PrincipalContext ctx = new PrincipalContext(ContextType.Domain, "YOURDOMAIN")

UserPrincipal user = UserPrincipal.FindByIdentity("somename");

bool locked = user.IsAccountLockedOut();

That’s all there is! Most of those everyday operations on users and groups have been vastly improved with .NET 3.5 – use those new capabilities!