WD Lesson - 7

Troubleshooting Active Directory Installation and Removal

• In order to install or remove Active Directory you must be able to troubleshoot Active Directory installation and removal.
• Troubleshooting Active Directory installation and removal involves using the Directory Service log; the Netdiag, Dcdiag, and Ntdsutil command-line tools; and the Dcpromoxx.log files to solve Active Directory installation and removal-related problems.

Viewing the Directory Service Log

To view the Directory Service log, complete the following steps:

1.         Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Event Viewer.

2.         In the console tree, select Directory Service. In the details pane, Event Viewer displays a list of events and summary information for each item.

3.         To view additional information for any event, double-click the event.

Netdiag.exe

• The Network Connectivity Tester (Netdiag) is a command-line, diagnostic tool included with the Windows Support Tools on the Windows Server 2003 Setup CD-ROM that helps isolate networking and connectivity problems by performing a series of tests to determine the state of a network client.
• Netdiag has the following syntax:

netdiag [/q] [/v] [/l] [/debug] [/d:DomainName] [/fix] [/DcAccountEnum]

[/test:testname] [/skip:testname] [/?]

• Netdiag tries to diagnose the problem and can even flag problem areas for closer inspection. It can fix simple DNS problems with the optional /fix switch.

Dcdiag.exe

• The Domain Controller Diagnostic tool (Dcdiag) is a command-line, diagnostic tool included with the Windows Support Tools on the Windows Server 2003 Setup CD-ROM that analyzes the state of domain controllers in a forest or enterprise and reports any problems.
• Dcdiag has the following syntax:

dcdiag /s:DomainController [/ n:NamingContext] [/u:Domain\Username /p:{* | Password | “"}] [{/a | /e}] [{/q | /v}] [/i] [/f:LogFile] [/ferr:ErrLog] [/c [/skip:Test]] [/

test:Test] [/fix] [{/h|/?}]

Ntdsutil.exe

• The Active Directory diagnostic tool (Ntdsutil) is a command-line tool that provides management facilities for Active Directory. By default, the Ntdsutil.exe file is installed in the %Systemroot%\System32 folder.
• We can use Ntdsutil to remove metadata left behind by domain controllers that were removed from the network without being properly uninstalled.
• Windows Server 2003 with SP1 updates the Active Directory diagnostic tool (Ntdsutil), significantly improving the usability of this tool and enhancing the Metadata Cleanup functionality.

Dcpromoxx. Log

• During the Active Directory Installation Wizard, the following log files are created in the %Systemroot%\Debug folder:

■ Dcpromoui.log

■ Dcpromos.log

■ Dcpromo.log

• If the installation or removal fails, detailed error messages appear in the log immediately after the step that caused the failure. To view the Dcpromoxx. Logs, we must complete the following steps:

1. Open My Computer.

2. Open %Systemroot%\Debug. Double-click the desired log file.