Primary/Root Domain Controller Died

I just lost the "root tree of the forest" in my WIN 2003 Domain and want to
know what I need to do to keep my domain working. Do I need to 'promote'
another AD server to be the CA or ??? - whatever keeps track of the unique
SIDs? Is there a good reference or checklist I can use to make sure it all
get done? I've seen this type of info before on the web, but can't seem to
find it when I desperately need it! Thanks, (Also, is there a better group
to discuss this???)

 

What you need to do is "Seize" the master roles and configure them on another
server. Here is a article that I keep in a favorites. While it is for 2000
the procedure should be the same. You may want to search for the exact
procedure for 2003:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pr...ory/maintain/opsguide/part1/adogd04.mspx#EFAA

If I find the 2003 version I will post it. Make sure you HEED ALL of the
warnings when completing this.

 

Here is the procedures for 2003:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pr...ons/7db85b1d-3e70-48b9-8fc1-77a13fc35919.mspx

 

Hey there old dude,

David covered the process pretty well, but I just want to verify a few things.
1 You have another DC in that domain, right?
2 You realize that if FSMO the roles are siezed that the old DC can never
come back. The hardware can be retasked and a new DC can be created, but the
DC as it is named today must cease to exist.

 

I followed you very well until "DC as it is named today must cease to exist"
and I just want to make sure I understand correctly... Are you saying I
should never use that name/IP address (we use static IP addresses) as a DC
ever again, or once I repair-reformat-reinstall Win 2003, I can make it a DC
with that same name again but never 'recover' what I had before??? For some
reason I was under the impression I could reuse the name/IP address because
it now has a different SID, et al.???

Otherwise, "Roger" on the multiple servers and the FSMO roles...

Thanks! (See my profile for more info on the equipment I support.)

Also, I"m still in a testing mode, but I used the second reference David
provided and everything seems to be working great, so far!

 

What Manny is referring to is that if were able to restore the Dead
controller that contained the master roles, you could not place it back into
production as it would conflict with the new server. You can reuse the name
and IP, as long as it is a new install and it rejoined the domain as a new DC.