Derby gave 10-man Rotherham the run-around at Pride Park after visiting keeper Mike Pollitt was controversially dismissed in the first half.
Goals from Georgi Kinkladze, Adam Bolder and 18-year-old striker Izale McLeod gave Rams fans something to smile about following the triple departure of Danny Higginbotham, Malcolm Christie and Chris Riggott.
Derby could have won by a country mile had they converted all their chances, while dispirited Rotherham embarked on a damage-limitation exercise.
Pollitt was given a straight red card for handling outside the penalty area in the 13th minute. Kinkladze buried the subsequent free-kick to give the Rams an early lead, Bolder struck right on half-time and McLeod made sure when converting from close-range four minutes after the restart.
With Christie now a Middlesbrough player Derby striker McLeod was given another chance up front alongside Lee Morris with Ian Evatt and Steve Elliott forming a new partnership at the heart of the Rams defence.
Curtis Woodhouse was making his debut for Rotherham - in place of the suspended John Mullin - but Alan Lee had to settle for a place on the bench after his two-match ban.
However, the visitors never recovered from the double blow of losing Pollitt and the resulting goal past substitute keeper Ian Gray, who replaced striker Richie Barker.
Gray had to wait 20 minutes before being forced into another save when Kinkladze tried his luck from long range, but Derby had rained in cross after cross without finding the finishing touch.
He pulled off a fine save to deny McLeod from close range and with 10-man Rotherham in danger of being overrun the interval could not come soon enough for boss Ronnie Moore.
But just when it looked like they had escaped with just a one-goal deficit Derby struck again on the stroke of half-time.
Kinkladze found space down the right and his cross was drilled home right-footed by Bolder to give the scoreline a more realistic look.
It went from bad to worse for Rotherham four minutes after the break. Not for the first time Warren Barton swept forward and his telling cross into the six-yard box was converted by McLeod from close range.
Millers defender Martin McIntosh denied Derby a fourth, blocking Robert Lee's goalbound shot and McLeod spurned a gilt-edged chance moments later when he dragged his side-footer wide.
Lee had two more long-range efforts, one flashing wide and the other held by Gray, but it was all one-way traffic.
Fabrizio Ravanelli replaced McLeod just after the hour-mark and Morris was denied twice in the space of three minutes.
First keeper Gray brilliantly parried his fierce snap-shot and then from an identical position the striker hit the woodwork.
Ravanelli forced the best out of Gray with a left-footed curler from 18 yards as Derby began to queue-up to score while all the visitors could do was get bodies behind the ball.
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