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Move-ADObject not working

ComputerHabit 1,021 Reputation points
2025-04-24T20:10:06.0666667+00:00

I am having the hardest time to get Move-ADObject to work.

I have been moving accounts on a regular basis but now I'm having issues. I recently move my forest levels to 2016. They're all the same.

Now when I move objects, I get an error:
Move-ADObject : No credentials are available in the security package

I haven't been able to figure it out. I created a lab and setup a forest with one subdomain.

I can't get Move-ADObject to work there either.

I can move in the same domain but trying to move to the subdomain fails.

I tried the simplest form and it fails. User's image

I tried to get the objects first and it fails. I tried DN and ObjectID. Both have issues.
User's image

Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? I can't figure it out. It used to work.

I am enterprise admin. There are no changes to the default setup of the lab.

Active Directory
Active Directory
A set of directory-based technologies included in Windows Server.
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  1. Chen Tran 0 Reputation points
    2025-05-04T08:50:58.83+00:00

    Hi ComputerHabit,

    Based on your provided error message "No credentials are available in the security" as well as the important hint of recent change of upgrading to forest level to 2016, This error message typically occurs when attempting to move an Active Directory object using the Move-ADObject PowerShell command. The followings are some potential causes for the issue.

    1. Insufficient Permissions – The account executing the command may not have the necessary permissions. Moving objects between domains often requires Enterprise Admins privileges.
    2. Service Account Restrictions – If the service account being used is marked as sensitive and cannot be delegated, it may prevent the operation.
    3. DNS Configuration Issues – In some cases, improper DNS search order or missing Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) can cause authentication failures.
    4. Forest Level Changes – If the Active Directory forest level was recently upgraded, it might introduce unexpected behavior affecting object movement.
    5. Authentication Token Expiry – when logging out and logging back temporarily resolves the issue, suggesting an intermittent authentication problem.
    • Open event viewer and check the security log for event ID 4625 for any potential of failed logon attempts.
    • User's image

    You can refer to the following articles which might purportedly address the issue mentioned in the above 4th potential cause.

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