DCPROMO seems to be stuck - Windows Server 2008 R2

Hello,

I'm not an expert on the subject but I have set up about 15 2008 servers and
run DCPROMO without seeing this issue. I have a 2008 R2 server - just
formatted from scratch, applied the 8 or so patches from Windows update.
I'm attempting to set up a brand new domain - new everything and it has
started the DC Promo process. I've set it for 2003 functional level. It
says currently Configuring the local computer to host Active Directory
Services. I realize it said set up can take from a few minutes to several
hours but I've never ever seen it take more than 10 minutes to do dcpromo
before. This is a standalone server running 2008 R2 x64 RTM on a system
with a 3 GHz core 2 processor and 4GB of RAM on a freshly formatted 500GB
hard drive with probably 95% free.

OK - It took a tad over an hour but it did complete. My computer has been
booting for about 10 minutes now - still got the indicator running across
the bottom to let me know it is booting. It is strange that it was so
fast in other ways on this system and so slow installing AD. I'll post
back when I've progressed past the boot screen.

"boe" <> wrote in message
news:0E2DB04A-67D1-4D22-B5C0-...
> Hello,
>
> I'm not an expert on the subject but I have set up about 15 2008 servers
> and run DCPROMO without seeing this issue. I have a 2008 R2 server -
> just formatted from scratch, applied the 8 or so patches from Windows
> update. I'm attempting to set up a brand new domain - new everything and
> it has started the DC Promo process. I've set it for 2003 functional
> level. It says currently Configuring the local computer to host Active
> Directory Services. I realize it said set up can take from a few minutes
> to several hours but I've never ever seen it take more than 10 minutes to
> do dcpromo before. This is a standalone server running 2008 R2 x64 RTM
> on a system with a 3 GHz core 2 processor and 4GB of RAM on a freshly
> formatted 500GB hard drive with probably 95% free.

It took over 25 minutes to get past the scrolling bar on boot up - now it
has been over 10 minutes on a black screen with just the white arrow cursor.
I had installed 2008 on this server previously without issue. Again, this
is a clean install not an upgrade - so far it looks like it is having some
pretty significant issues.

"boe" <> wrote in message
news:17BB0EE7-6401-4879-9EF1-...
> OK - It took a tad over an hour but it did complete. My computer has
> been booting for about 10 minutes now - still got the indicator running
> across the bottom to let me know it is booting. It is strange that it
> was so fast in other ways on this system and so slow installing AD. I'll
> post back when I've progressed past the boot screen.
>
> "boe" <> wrote in message
> news:0E2DB04A-67D1-4D22-B5C0-...
>> Hello,
>>
>> I'm not an expert on the subject but I have set up about 15 2008 servers
>> and run DCPROMO without seeing this issue. I have a 2008 R2 server -
>> just formatted from scratch, applied the 8 or so patches from Windows
>> update. I'm attempting to set up a brand new domain - new everything and
>> it has started the DC Promo process. I've set it for 2003 functional
>> level. It says currently Configuring the local computer to host Active
>> Directory Services. I realize it said set up can take from a few
>> minutes to several hours but I've never ever seen it take more than 10
>> minutes to do dcpromo before. This is a standalone server running 2008
>> R2 x64 RTM on a system with a 3 GHz core 2 processor and 4GB of RAM on a
>> freshly formatted 500GB hard drive with probably 95% free.
>

OK - it was at the cursor arrow without any background or ctrl alt del to
allow me to login for over an hour - then it finally just rebooted - now
waiting for it to get past the microsoft corporation scrolling windows load
boot - it has been booting for over 10 minutes. So far this isn't going
nearly as well as my first try with Windows 2008 or even 2003.

"boe" <> wrote in message
news:812D8B33-5237-497F-8696-...
> It took over 25 minutes to get past the scrolling bar on boot up - now it
> has been over 10 minutes on a black screen with just the white arrow
> cursor. I had installed 2008 on this server previously without issue.
> Again, this is a clean install not an upgrade - so far it looks like it is
> having some pretty significant issues.
>
> "boe" <> wrote in message
> news:17BB0EE7-6401-4879-9EF1-...
>> OK - It took a tad over an hour but it did complete. My computer has
>> been booting for about 10 minutes now - still got the indicator running
>> across the bottom to let me know it is booting. It is strange that it
>> was so fast in other ways on this system and so slow installing AD.
>> I'll post back when I've progressed past the boot screen.
>>
>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>> news:0E2DB04A-67D1-4D22-B5C0-...
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I'm not an expert on the subject but I have set up about 15 2008 servers
>>> and run DCPROMO without seeing this issue. I have a 2008 R2 server -
>>> just formatted from scratch, applied the 8 or so patches from Windows
>>> update. I'm attempting to set up a brand new domain - new everything and
>>> it has started the DC Promo process. I've set it for 2003 functional
>>> level. It says currently Configuring the local computer to host Active
>>> Directory Services. I realize it said set up can take from a few
>>> minutes to several hours but I've never ever seen it take more than 10
>>> minutes to do dcpromo before. This is a standalone server running 2008
>>> R2 x64 RTM on a system with a 3 GHz core 2 processor and 4GB of RAM on a
>>> freshly formatted 500GB hard drive with probably 95% free.
>>

OK - I guess at this point I'm only posting in case someone has a similar
experience of what I've tried. Since I waited over an hour for it to boot
after it took over an hour to run dcpromo, I've gone a head and tried
booting it in safe mode with networking - no luck, safe mode only - no
luck (just hangs on boot - never gets in) and finally directory services
repair - no luck. I've also run memory check - it is fine.

"boe" <> wrote in message
news0F03667-6795-4C3C-8CE5-...
> OK - it was at the cursor arrow without any background or ctrl alt del to
> allow me to login for over an hour - then it finally just rebooted - now
> waiting for it to get past the microsoft corporation scrolling windows
> load boot - it has been booting for over 10 minutes. So far this isn't
> going nearly as well as my first try with Windows 2008 or even 2003.
>
> "boe" <> wrote in message
> news:812D8B33-5237-497F-8696-...
>> It took over 25 minutes to get past the scrolling bar on boot up - now
>> it has been over 10 minutes on a black screen with just the white arrow
>> cursor. I had installed 2008 on this server previously without issue.
>> Again, this is a clean install not an upgrade - so far it looks like it
>> is having some pretty significant issues.
>>
>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>> news:17BB0EE7-6401-4879-9EF1-...
>>> OK - It took a tad over an hour but it did complete. My computer has
>>> been booting for about 10 minutes now - still got the indicator running
>>> across the bottom to let me know it is booting. It is strange that it
>>> was so fast in other ways on this system and so slow installing AD. I'll
>>> post back when I've progressed past the boot screen.
>>>
>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>> news:0E2DB04A-67D1-4D22-B5C0-...
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> I'm not an expert on the subject but I have set up about 15 2008
>>>> servers and run DCPROMO without seeing this issue. I have a 2008 R2
>>>> server - just formatted from scratch, applied the 8 or so patches from
>>>> Windows update. I'm attempting to set up a brand new domain - new
>>>> everything and it has started the DC Promo process. I've set it for
>>>> 2003 functional level. It says currently Configuring the local
>>>> computer to host Active Directory Services. I realize it said set up
>>>> can take from a few minutes to several hours but I've never ever seen
>>>> it take more than 10 minutes to do dcpromo before. This is a
>>>> standalone server running 2008 R2 x64 RTM on a system with a 3 GHz core
>>>> 2 processor and 4GB of RAM on a freshly formatted 500GB hard drive with
>>>> probably 95% free.
>>>

"boe" <> wrote in message
news:4A123351-5E3C-4F95-9CB7-...
> OK - I guess at this point I'm only posting in case someone has a similar
> experience of what I've tried. Since I waited over an hour for it to
> boot after it took over an hour to run dcpromo, I've gone a head and tried
> booting it in safe mode with networking - no luck, safe mode only - no
> luck (just hangs on boot - never gets in) and finally directory services
> repair - no luck. I've also run memory check - it is fine.
>
> "boe" <> wrote in message
> news0F03667-6795-4C3C-8CE5-...
>> OK - it was at the cursor arrow without any background or ctrl alt del to
>> allow me to login for over an hour - then it finally just rebooted - now
>> waiting for it to get past the microsoft corporation scrolling windows
>> load boot - it has been booting for over 10 minutes. So far this isn't
>> going nearly as well as my first try with Windows 2008 or even 2003.
>>
>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>> news:812D8B33-5237-497F-8696-...
>>> It took over 25 minutes to get past the scrolling bar on boot up - now
>>> it has been over 10 minutes on a black screen with just the white arrow
>>> cursor. I had installed 2008 on this server previously without issue.
>>> Again, this is a clean install not an upgrade - so far it looks like it
>>> is having some pretty significant issues.
>>>
>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>> news:17BB0EE7-6401-4879-9EF1-...
>>>> OK - It took a tad over an hour but it did complete. My computer has
>>>> been booting for about 10 minutes now - still got the indicator running
>>>> across the bottom to let me know it is booting. It is strange that
>>>> it was so fast in other ways on this system and so slow installing AD.
>>>> I'll post back when I've progressed past the boot screen.
>>>>
>>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:0E2DB04A-67D1-4D22-B5C0-...
>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm not an expert on the subject but I have set up about 15 2008
>>>>> servers and run DCPROMO without seeing this issue. I have a 2008 R2
>>>>> server - just formatted from scratch, applied the 8 or so patches from
>>>>> Windows update. I'm attempting to set up a brand new domain - new
>>>>> everything and it has started the DC Promo process. I've set it for
>>>>> 2003 functional level. It says currently Configuring the local
>>>>> computer to host Active Directory Services. I realize it said set up
>>>>> can take from a few minutes to several hours but I've never ever seen
>>>>> it take more than 10 minutes to do dcpromo before. This is a
>>>>> standalone server running 2008 R2 x64 RTM on a system with a 3 GHz
>>>>> core 2 processor and 4GB of RAM on a freshly formatted 500GB hard
>>>>> drive with probably 95% free.
>>>>


I assume when you first ran dcpromo that you installed DNS or dcpromo asked
you to install DNS. The reason I mentioned that is DNS is usually the
culprit when I hear of this type of issue.

If this is the first DC in a new domain/forest, you can probably save
yourself some time and further headaches by blowing it away and reinstalling
it. If it happens again, I would think it may point to a hardware issue such
as RAM or CPU cache.

--
Ace

This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees and
confers no rights.

Please reply back to the newsgroup or forum for collaboration benefit among
responding engineers, and to help others benefit from your resolution.

Ace Fekay, MCT, MCITP EA, MCTS Windows 2008 & Exchange 2007, MCSE & MCSA
2003/2000, MCSA Messaging 2003
Microsoft Certified Trainer

For urgent issues, please contact Microsoft PSS directly. Please check
http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.

Thanks but with 2008 and 2008R2 dcpromo installs and configures the
components necessary for a DC including dns. I've reformatted 4 times
now - it happens each time. I've read a number of other people having the
exact same issue in technet and other places - so far I haven't seen a
solution.

"Ace Fekay [MCT]" <> wrote in message
news:...
> "boe" <> wrote in message
> news:4A123351-5E3C-4F95-9CB7-...
>> OK - I guess at this point I'm only posting in case someone has a similar
>> experience of what I've tried. Since I waited over an hour for it to
>> boot after it took over an hour to run dcpromo, I've gone a head and
>> tried booting it in safe mode with networking - no luck, safe mode
>> only - no luck (just hangs on boot - never gets in) and finally directory
>> services repair - no luck. I've also run memory check - it is fine.
>>
>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>> news0F03667-6795-4C3C-8CE5-...
>>> OK - it was at the cursor arrow without any background or ctrl alt del
>>> to allow me to login for over an hour - then it finally just rebooted -
>>> now waiting for it to get past the microsoft corporation scrolling
>>> windows load boot - it has been booting for over 10 minutes. So far
>>> this isn't going nearly as well as my first try with Windows 2008 or
>>> even 2003.
>>>
>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>> news:812D8B33-5237-497F-8696-...
>>>> It took over 25 minutes to get past the scrolling bar on boot up - now
>>>> it has been over 10 minutes on a black screen with just the white arrow
>>>> cursor. I had installed 2008 on this server previously without issue.
>>>> Again, this is a clean install not an upgrade - so far it looks like it
>>>> is having some pretty significant issues.
>>>>
>>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:17BB0EE7-6401-4879-9EF1-...
>>>>> OK - It took a tad over an hour but it did complete. My computer has
>>>>> been booting for about 10 minutes now - still got the indicator
>>>>> running across the bottom to let me know it is booting. It is
>>>>> strange that it was so fast in other ways on this system and so slow
>>>>> installing AD. I'll post back when I've progressed past the boot
>>>>> screen.
>>>>>
>>>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>>>> news:0E2DB04A-67D1-4D22-B5C0-...
>>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm not an expert on the subject but I have set up about 15 2008
>>>>>> servers and run DCPROMO without seeing this issue. I have a 2008 R2
>>>>>> server - just formatted from scratch, applied the 8 or so patches
>>>>>> from Windows update. I'm attempting to set up a brand new domain -
>>>>>> new everything and it has started the DC Promo process. I've set
>>>>>> it for 2003 functional level. It says currently Configuring the
>>>>>> local computer to host Active Directory Services. I realize it said
>>>>>> set up can take from a few minutes to several hours but I've never
>>>>>> ever seen it take more than 10 minutes to do dcpromo before. This
>>>>>> is a standalone server running 2008 R2 x64 RTM on a system with a 3
>>>>>> GHz core 2 processor and 4GB of RAM on a freshly formatted 500GB hard
>>>>>> drive with probably 95% free.
>>>>>
>
>
> I assume when you first ran dcpromo that you installed DNS or dcpromo
> asked you to install DNS. The reason I mentioned that is DNS is usually
> the culprit when I hear of this type of issue.
>
> If this is the first DC in a new domain/forest, you can probably save
> yourself some time and further headaches by blowing it away and
> reinstalling it. If it happens again, I would think it may point to a
> hardware issue such as RAM or CPU cache.
>
> --
> Ace
>
> This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees and
> confers no rights.
>
> Please reply back to the newsgroup or forum for collaboration benefit
> among responding engineers, and to help others benefit from your
> resolution.
>
> Ace Fekay, MCT, MCITP EA, MCTS Windows 2008 & Exchange 2007, MCSE & MCSA
> 2003/2000, MCSA Messaging 2003
> Microsoft Certified Trainer
>
> For urgent issues, please contact Microsoft PSS directly. Please check
> http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.
>
>

PS - I also ran the memory check twice.

"Ace Fekay [MCT]" <> wrote in message
news:...
> "boe" <> wrote in message
> news:4A123351-5E3C-4F95-9CB7-...
>> OK - I guess at this point I'm only posting in case someone has a similar
>> experience of what I've tried. Since I waited over an hour for it to
>> boot after it took over an hour to run dcpromo, I've gone a head and
>> tried booting it in safe mode with networking - no luck, safe mode
>> only - no luck (just hangs on boot - never gets in) and finally directory
>> services repair - no luck. I've also run memory check - it is fine.
>>
>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>> news0F03667-6795-4C3C-8CE5-...
>>> OK - it was at the cursor arrow without any background or ctrl alt del
>>> to allow me to login for over an hour - then it finally just rebooted -
>>> now waiting for it to get past the microsoft corporation scrolling
>>> windows load boot - it has been booting for over 10 minutes. So far
>>> this isn't going nearly as well as my first try with Windows 2008 or
>>> even 2003.
>>>
>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>> news:812D8B33-5237-497F-8696-...
>>>> It took over 25 minutes to get past the scrolling bar on boot up - now
>>>> it has been over 10 minutes on a black screen with just the white arrow
>>>> cursor. I had installed 2008 on this server previously without issue.
>>>> Again, this is a clean install not an upgrade - so far it looks like it
>>>> is having some pretty significant issues.
>>>>
>>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:17BB0EE7-6401-4879-9EF1-...
>>>>> OK - It took a tad over an hour but it did complete. My computer has
>>>>> been booting for about 10 minutes now - still got the indicator
>>>>> running across the bottom to let me know it is booting. It is
>>>>> strange that it was so fast in other ways on this system and so slow
>>>>> installing AD. I'll post back when I've progressed past the boot
>>>>> screen.
>>>>>
>>>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>>>> news:0E2DB04A-67D1-4D22-B5C0-...
>>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm not an expert on the subject but I have set up about 15 2008
>>>>>> servers and run DCPROMO without seeing this issue. I have a 2008 R2
>>>>>> server - just formatted from scratch, applied the 8 or so patches
>>>>>> from Windows update. I'm attempting to set up a brand new domain -
>>>>>> new everything and it has started the DC Promo process. I've set
>>>>>> it for 2003 functional level. It says currently Configuring the
>>>>>> local computer to host Active Directory Services. I realize it said
>>>>>> set up can take from a few minutes to several hours but I've never
>>>>>> ever seen it take more than 10 minutes to do dcpromo before. This
>>>>>> is a standalone server running 2008 R2 x64 RTM on a system with a 3
>>>>>> GHz core 2 processor and 4GB of RAM on a freshly formatted 500GB hard
>>>>>> drive with probably 95% free.
>>>>>
>
>
> I assume when you first ran dcpromo that you installed DNS or dcpromo
> asked you to install DNS. The reason I mentioned that is DNS is usually
> the culprit when I hear of this type of issue.
>
> If this is the first DC in a new domain/forest, you can probably save
> yourself some time and further headaches by blowing it away and
> reinstalling it. If it happens again, I would think it may point to a
> hardware issue such as RAM or CPU cache.
>
> --
> Ace
>
> This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees and
> confers no rights.
>
> Please reply back to the newsgroup or forum for collaboration benefit
> among responding engineers, and to help others benefit from your
> resolution.
>
> Ace Fekay, MCT, MCITP EA, MCTS Windows 2008 & Exchange 2007, MCSE & MCSA
> 2003/2000, MCSA Messaging 2003
> Microsoft Certified Trainer
>
> For urgent issues, please contact Microsoft PSS directly. Please check
> http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.
>
>

PPS I was able to install 2008 (pre R2) without issue on this same box.

"Ace Fekay [MCT]" <> wrote in message
news:...
> "boe" <> wrote in message
> news:4A123351-5E3C-4F95-9CB7-...
>> OK - I guess at this point I'm only posting in case someone has a similar
>> experience of what I've tried. Since I waited over an hour for it to
>> boot after it took over an hour to run dcpromo, I've gone a head and
>> tried booting it in safe mode with networking - no luck, safe mode
>> only - no luck (just hangs on boot - never gets in) and finally directory
>> services repair - no luck. I've also run memory check - it is fine.
>>
>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>> news0F03667-6795-4C3C-8CE5-...
>>> OK - it was at the cursor arrow without any background or ctrl alt del
>>> to allow me to login for over an hour - then it finally just rebooted -
>>> now waiting for it to get past the microsoft corporation scrolling
>>> windows load boot - it has been booting for over 10 minutes. So far
>>> this isn't going nearly as well as my first try with Windows 2008 or
>>> even 2003.
>>>
>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>> news:812D8B33-5237-497F-8696-...
>>>> It took over 25 minutes to get past the scrolling bar on boot up - now
>>>> it has been over 10 minutes on a black screen with just the white arrow
>>>> cursor. I had installed 2008 on this server previously without issue.
>>>> Again, this is a clean install not an upgrade - so far it looks like it
>>>> is having some pretty significant issues.
>>>>
>>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:17BB0EE7-6401-4879-9EF1-...
>>>>> OK - It took a tad over an hour but it did complete. My computer has
>>>>> been booting for about 10 minutes now - still got the indicator
>>>>> running across the bottom to let me know it is booting. It is
>>>>> strange that it was so fast in other ways on this system and so slow
>>>>> installing AD. I'll post back when I've progressed past the boot
>>>>> screen.
>>>>>
>>>>> "boe" <> wrote in message
>>>>> news:0E2DB04A-67D1-4D22-B5C0-...
>>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm not an expert on the subject but I have set up about 15 2008
>>>>>> servers and run DCPROMO without seeing this issue. I have a 2008 R2
>>>>>> server - just formatted from scratch, applied the 8 or so patches
>>>>>> from Windows update. I'm attempting to set up a brand new domain -
>>>>>> new everything and it has started the DC Promo process. I've set
>>>>>> it for 2003 functional level. It says currently Configuring the
>>>>>> local computer to host Active Directory Services. I realize it said
>>>>>> set up can take from a few minutes to several hours but I've never
>>>>>> ever seen it take more than 10 minutes to do dcpromo before. This
>>>>>> is a standalone server running 2008 R2 x64 RTM on a system with a 3
>>>>>> GHz core 2 processor and 4GB of RAM on a freshly formatted 500GB hard
>>>>>> drive with probably 95% free.
>>>>>
>
>
> I assume when you first ran dcpromo that you installed DNS or dcpromo
> asked you to install DNS. The reason I mentioned that is DNS is usually
> the culprit when I hear of this type of issue.
>
> If this is the first DC in a new domain/forest, you can probably save
> yourself some time and further headaches by blowing it away and
> reinstalling it. If it happens again, I would think it may point to a
> hardware issue such as RAM or CPU cache.
>
> --
> Ace
>
> This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees and
> confers no rights.
>
> Please reply back to the newsgroup or forum for collaboration benefit
> among responding engineers, and to help others benefit from your
> resolution.
>
> Ace Fekay, MCT, MCITP EA, MCTS Windows 2008 & Exchange 2007, MCSE & MCSA
> 2003/2000, MCSA Messaging 2003
> Microsoft Certified Trainer
>
> For urgent issues, please contact Microsoft PSS directly. Please check
> http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.
>
>

"boe" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> PPS I was able to install 2008 (pre R2) without issue on this same box.
>


Then I'm not sure where the problem is. If you said you've read articles
regarding others having the same problem, what specifically do they say? Can
you share the links? It would be helpful to see what you've found.

I found a few links, two of them posted below, that state dcpromo fails on
2008 R2 (whereas previous versions will allow it although they complain) due
to the server having one or more interfaces set to use a DHCP address. I
assume you have static addresses set? I also would suggest and assume you
haven't yet installed RRAS roles. If there are two NICs that are not teamed,
I would also suggest to disable one of them or install the NIC software from
the vendor to team them, and give the team a static config.

Server 2008 R2: dcpromo fails because of dynamic IP addresses ...3 posts - 2
authors - Last post: Sep 23
Server 2008 R2: dcpromo fails because of dynamic IP addresses ... I added
the AD DS role to my Windows Server 2008 R2 installation and ran ...
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/For...5-9a650a58141d

Server 2008 R2: dcpromo fails because of dynamic IP addresses ...3 posts - 2
authors - Last post: Sep 15
I added the AD DS role to my Windows Server 2008 R2 installation and ran
dcpromo... The installation process stopped in between because of ...
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/...2-f45f80bf1070

Possibly also disabling IPv6 prior to promotion, may help.

Disabling IPv6 on Windows 2008 or Vista
http://blogs.dirteam.com/blogs/paulb...dows-2008.aspx

Ace