Backup and Restore

[ganesh.blogs@gmail.com]

Hai Train Signal Team,

In my Computer Lab, Two domain controllers are available. I am not taking any backup on these servers.

Recently, my Primary Domain Controller failes. All the clients in our lab are supported by the backup domain controller.

Now I am force my backup domain controller to PDC by changing all the operation masters (RID, PDC, Infrastructure).

Using NTDSUTIL.exe, I backup the active directory by IFM method.

Now i am building the new Windows 2008 R2 Server. How i can restore IFM media in the new domain controller.

I am not aware of Mounting and demounting the ADDS Server.

Pls Help.

[texasit]

Can't you just reinstall the server OS on the server and then run dcpromo and allow replication to update it?

The other way is to run an unattended install of Dcpromo using an answer file as follows:

dcpromo /unattend:<path of the answer file>

then use a answer file as follows

DCINSTALL]
UserName=<The administrative account in the domain of the new domain controller>
UserDomain=<The name of the domain of the new domain controller>
Password=<The password for the UserName account>
SiteName=<The name of the AD DS site in which this domain controller will reside> This site must be created in advance in the Dssites.msc snap-in.
ReplicaOrNewDomain=replica
ReplicaDomainDNSName=<The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the domain in which you want to add an additional domain controller>
DatabasePath="<The path of a folder on a local volume>"
LogPath="<The path of a folder on a local volume>"
SYSVOLPath="<The path of a folder on a local volume>"
InstallDNS=yes
ConfirmGC=yes
SafeModeAdminPassword=<The password for an offline administrator account>
RebootOnCompletion=yes

[Ed]

I agree. As long as you have 1 fully functional DC you should be able to just reinstall on the other computer and allow replication to take care of the rest.

Ed

[ganesh.blogs@gmail.com]

I reinstalled new Sever 2008 R2 RTM,and when I am tried to run dcpromo after certain steps, it ask me to do "adprep/forestprep" in support/adprep directory in the DC. I do the same in PDC and PDC states that forest "Forest-wide information has already been updated". I dont know what to do next.

[Ed]

What operating system/version of AD did you have originally before the domain controller failed?

[ganesh.blogs@gmail.com]

What operating system/version of AD did you have originally before the domain controller failed?

The operating System before the DC failed is, Windows Server 2008 Enterprise.

Now I am reconfiguring it with Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise RTM.