dead Domain Controller

Our company has three DCs (2 in our main office and 1 in via WAN). The hard
drive in one of the DCs (main office) died yesterday. We have a copy of that
DC from a week ago. If we simply replace the drive will it sync up OK with
the two working DCs or can it cause problems with our AD?

Hello Don,

Images or snapshots are not supported ways of backup for Active directory,
this will result in USN rollbacks.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875495

If you don't have an AD aware backup please cleanup AD database from the
old DC and add a new DC to the domain, after cleanup you can still use the
old name and ipaddress, see here about the needed cleanup steps:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555846/en-us

Best regards

Meinolf Weber
Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers
no rights.
** Please do NOT email, only reply to Newsgroups
** HELP us help YOU!!! http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm


> Our company has three DCs (2 in our main office and 1 in via WAN). The
> hard drive in one of the DCs (main office) died yesterday. We have a
> copy of that DC from a week ago. If we simply replace the drive will
> it sync up OK with the two working DCs or can it cause problems with
> our AD?
>

A copy of a dc unfortunately isn't enough information to provide you a
restoration procedure. Please provide exact details on what you have
available.

If you replace the disk and then go back and do a recovery from tape that is
AD aware then when this dc comes online it will know enough to pull
replication data from the other dc's. Otherwise if you use a snapshot
restore you can get your self into trouble with orphans and lingering
objects due to the dc being unaware that it has been restored.

There is a new trick to recover using a snapshot that I recently was shown
but I haven't gotten it detailed nor is it sanctioned by Microsoft but it
should allow a full recovery. Until I have it documented I won't post on my
blog. Hopefully in the next week or two.

--
Paul Bergson
MVP - Directory Services
MCITP - Enterprise Administrator
MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, Security +, BS CSci
2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
Microsoft's Thrive IT Pro of the Month - June 2009

http://www.pbbergs.com

Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewGroups. This
posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
"Don Powell" <> wrote in message
news:0E26B1DC-3D7D-4698-939C-...
> Our company has three DCs (2 in our main office and 1 in via WAN). The
> hard
> drive in one of the DCs (main office) died yesterday. We have a copy of
> that
> DC from a week ago. If we simply replace the drive will it sync up OK with
> the two working DCs or can it cause problems with our AD?

It's actually a complete hard drive that we removed from the RAID array a
week ago.

"Meinolf Weber [MVP-DS]" wrote:

> Hello Don,
>
> Images or snapshots are not supported ways of backup for Active directory,
> this will result in USN rollbacks.
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875495
>
> If you don't have an AD aware backup please cleanup AD database from the
> old DC and add a new DC to the domain, after cleanup you can still use the
> old name and ipaddress, see here about the needed cleanup steps:
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555846/en-us
>
> Best regards
>
> Meinolf Weber
> Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers
> no rights.
> ** Please do NOT email, only reply to Newsgroups
> ** HELP us help YOU!!! http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm
>
>
> > Our company has three DCs (2 in our main office and 1 in via WAN). The
> > hard drive in one of the DCs (main office) died yesterday. We have a
> > copy of that DC from a week ago. If we simply replace the drive will
> > it sync up OK with the two working DCs or can it cause problems with
> > our AD?
> >
>
>
> .
>

One drive from a RAID array should have no impact unless it was RAID 0. The
other disks should allow you to continue on without losing any data.

--
Paul Bergson
MVP - Directory Services
MCITP - Enterprise Administrator
MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, Security +, BS CSci
2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
Microsoft's Thrive IT Pro of the Month - June 2009

http://www.pbbergs.com

Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewGroups. This
posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
"Don Powell" <> wrote in message
news:6684091F-EB22-44C3-AE99-...
> It's actually a complete hard drive that we removed from the RAID array a
> week ago.
>
> "Meinolf Weber [MVP-DS]" wrote:
>
>> Hello Don,
>>
>> Images or snapshots are not supported ways of backup for Active
>> directory,
>> this will result in USN rollbacks.
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875495
>>
>> If you don't have an AD aware backup please cleanup AD database from the
>> old DC and add a new DC to the domain, after cleanup you can still use
>> the
>> old name and ipaddress, see here about the needed cleanup steps:
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555846/en-us
>>
>> Best regards
>>
>> Meinolf Weber
>> Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and
>> confers
>> no rights.
>> ** Please do NOT email, only reply to Newsgroups
>> ** HELP us help YOU!!! http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm
>>
>>
>> > Our company has three DCs (2 in our main office and 1 in via WAN). The
>> > hard drive in one of the DCs (main office) died yesterday. We have a
>> > copy of that DC from a week ago. If we simply replace the drive will
>> > it sync up OK with the two working DCs or can it cause problems with
>> > our AD?
>> >
>>
>>
>> .
>>

Sorry, let me start over. We removed a drive from our RAID1 DC last week (for
backup purposes) and inserted a new drive. After that a bad memory chip
hammered the OS so both of the drives that were in at that time are corrupt.
What we would like to do is reinsert the drive that we removed last week
which will come up just fine. Our concern is that this drive holds AD info
that is a week old. Will it just resync with the other DCs and move happily
along or will it cause problems from the AD side?

"Paul Bergson [MVP-DS]" wrote:

> One drive from a RAID array should have no impact unless it was RAID 0. The
> other disks should allow you to continue on without losing any data.
>
> --
> Paul Bergson
> MVP - Directory Services
> MCITP - Enterprise Administrator
> MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, Security +, BS CSci
> 2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
> Microsoft's Thrive IT Pro of the Month - June 2009
>
> http://www.pbbergs.com
>
> Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewGroups. This
> posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
> "Don Powell" <> wrote in message
> news:6684091F-EB22-44C3-AE99-...
> > It's actually a complete hard drive that we removed from the RAID array a
> > week ago.
> >
> > "Meinolf Weber [MVP-DS]" wrote:
> >
> >> Hello Don,
> >>
> >> Images or snapshots are not supported ways of backup for Active
> >> directory,
> >> this will result in USN rollbacks.
> >> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875495
> >>
> >> If you don't have an AD aware backup please cleanup AD database from the
> >> old DC and add a new DC to the domain, after cleanup you can still use
> >> the
> >> old name and ipaddress, see here about the needed cleanup steps:
> >> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555846/en-us
> >>
> >> Best regards
> >>
> >> Meinolf Weber
> >> Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and
> >> confers
> >> no rights.
> >> ** Please do NOT email, only reply to Newsgroups
> >> ** HELP us help YOU!!! http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm
> >>
> >>
> >> > Our company has three DCs (2 in our main office and 1 in via WAN). The
> >> > hard drive in one of the DCs (main office) died yesterday. We have a
> >> > copy of that DC from a week ago. If we simply replace the drive will
> >> > it sync up OK with the two working DCs or can it cause problems with
> >> > our AD?
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >> .
> >>
>
>
> .
>

As long as this dc hasn't had any other replication between it and the
domain you will be fine. The age of disconnect is no big deal you should
have 90 days before you have to be concerned.

--
Paul Bergson
MVP - Directory Services
MCITP - Enterprise Administrator
MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, Security +, BS CSci
2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
Microsoft's Thrive IT Pro of the Month - June 2009

http://www.pbbergs.com

Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewGroups. This
posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
"Don Powell" <> wrote in message
news:153603FF-03DB-4C4B-8D23-...
> Sorry, let me start over. We removed a drive from our RAID1 DC last week
> (for
> backup purposes) and inserted a new drive. After that a bad memory chip
> hammered the OS so both of the drives that were in at that time are
> corrupt.
> What we would like to do is reinsert the drive that we removed last week
> which will come up just fine. Our concern is that this drive holds AD info
> that is a week old. Will it just resync with the other DCs and move
> happily
> along or will it cause problems from the AD side?
>
> "Paul Bergson [MVP-DS]" wrote:
>
>> One drive from a RAID array should have no impact unless it was RAID 0.
>> The
>> other disks should allow you to continue on without losing any data.
>>
>> --
>> Paul Bergson
>> MVP - Directory Services
>> MCITP - Enterprise Administrator
>> MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, Security +, BS CSci
>> 2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
>> Microsoft's Thrive IT Pro of the Month - June 2009
>>
>> http://www.pbbergs.com
>>
>> Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewGroups. This
>> posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
>> "Don Powell" <> wrote in message
>> news:6684091F-EB22-44C3-AE99-...
>> > It's actually a complete hard drive that we removed from the RAID array
>> > a
>> > week ago.
>> >
>> > "Meinolf Weber [MVP-DS]" wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hello Don,
>> >>
>> >> Images or snapshots are not supported ways of backup for Active
>> >> directory,
>> >> this will result in USN rollbacks.
>> >> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875495
>> >>
>> >> If you don't have an AD aware backup please cleanup AD database from
>> >> the
>> >> old DC and add a new DC to the domain, after cleanup you can still use
>> >> the
>> >> old name and ipaddress, see here about the needed cleanup steps:
>> >> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555846/en-us
>> >>
>> >> Best regards
>> >>
>> >> Meinolf Weber
>> >> Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and
>> >> confers
>> >> no rights.
>> >> ** Please do NOT email, only reply to Newsgroups
>> >> ** HELP us help YOU!!! http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> > Our company has three DCs (2 in our main office and 1 in via WAN).
>> >> > The
>> >> > hard drive in one of the DCs (main office) died yesterday. We have a
>> >> > copy of that DC from a week ago. If we simply replace the drive will
>> >> > it sync up OK with the two working DCs or can it cause problems with
>> >> > our AD?
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> .
>> >>
>>
>>
>> .
>>

Thanks Paul

"Paul Bergson [MVP-DS]" wrote:

> As long as this dc hasn't had any other replication between it and the
> domain you will be fine. The age of disconnect is no big deal you should
> have 90 days before you have to be concerned.
>
> --
> Paul Bergson
> MVP - Directory Services
> MCITP - Enterprise Administrator
> MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, Security +, BS CSci
> 2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
> Microsoft's Thrive IT Pro of the Month - June 2009
>
> http://www.pbbergs.com
>
> Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewGroups. This
> posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
> "Don Powell" <> wrote in message
> news:153603FF-03DB-4C4B-8D23-...
> > Sorry, let me start over. We removed a drive from our RAID1 DC last week
> > (for
> > backup purposes) and inserted a new drive. After that a bad memory chip
> > hammered the OS so both of the drives that were in at that time are
> > corrupt.
> > What we would like to do is reinsert the drive that we removed last week
> > which will come up just fine. Our concern is that this drive holds AD info
> > that is a week old. Will it just resync with the other DCs and move
> > happily
> > along or will it cause problems from the AD side?
> >
> > "Paul Bergson [MVP-DS]" wrote:
> >
> >> One drive from a RAID array should have no impact unless it was RAID 0.
> >> The
> >> other disks should allow you to continue on without losing any data.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Paul Bergson
> >> MVP - Directory Services
> >> MCITP - Enterprise Administrator
> >> MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, Security +, BS CSci
> >> 2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
> >> Microsoft's Thrive IT Pro of the Month - June 2009
> >>
> >> http://www.pbbergs.com
> >>
> >> Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewGroups. This
> >> posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
> >> "Don Powell" <> wrote in message
> >> news:6684091F-EB22-44C3-AE99-...
> >> > It's actually a complete hard drive that we removed from the RAID array
> >> > a
> >> > week ago.
> >> >
> >> > "Meinolf Weber [MVP-DS]" wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> Hello Don,
> >> >>
> >> >> Images or snapshots are not supported ways of backup for Active
> >> >> directory,
> >> >> this will result in USN rollbacks.
> >> >> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875495
> >> >>
> >> >> If you don't have an AD aware backup please cleanup AD database from
> >> >> the
> >> >> old DC and add a new DC to the domain, after cleanup you can still use
> >> >> the
> >> >> old name and ipaddress, see here about the needed cleanup steps:
> >> >> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555846/en-us
> >> >>
> >> >> Best regards
> >> >>
> >> >> Meinolf Weber
> >> >> Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and
> >> >> confers
> >> >> no rights.
> >> >> ** Please do NOT email, only reply to Newsgroups
> >> >> ** HELP us help YOU!!! http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> > Our company has three DCs (2 in our main office and 1 in via WAN).
> >> >> > The
> >> >> > hard drive in one of the DCs (main office) died yesterday. We have a
> >> >> > copy of that DC from a week ago. If we simply replace the drive will
> >> >> > it sync up OK with the two working DCs or can it cause problems with
> >> >> > our AD?
> >> >> >
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> .
> >> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> .
> >>
>
>
> .
>