dcpromo/dns problem

[RLG]

Greetings!

Recently we had a DC fail and had to seize the FSMO roles on the other DC.
I'm now attempting to promote another Windows 2000 Server to a DC using
dcpromo and I'm having some problems.

The machine being promoted is currently the DNS server for the network. The
DNS is not active directory integrated. When I run dcpromo I'm presented
with the following error after entering the domain information.

Error----------------------------------------------------------------------

The wizard cannot gain access to the list of domains in the forest. This
condition may be caused by a DNS lookup problem. For information about
troubleshooting common DNS lookup problems, please see the following
Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=5171. The error is:
The specified domain either does not exist or could not be contacted.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've reviewed the referenced document and everything checked out okay as far
as the DNS being configured properly with A record, NS record, etc. One
document located at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/dns/tshoot/dns_tshoot2B.asp stated the
following:
Each of the following "subfolders" must be present in the DNS zone. There
will be DNS Service (SRV) records in them.
_MSDCS
_SITES
_TCP
_UDP

I do not find the subfolder in the DNS zone on the current DNS server. I
assume that they are something that should be there if the DNS is active
directory integrated. I may be wrong, however.

If anyone has any guidance for me on how to procede with getting past this
error it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Rod

 

[Danny Slye - [MSFT}]

The "underscore" subfolders are create by the netlogon service when a DC
registers its records in the zone that hosts the AD domain zone. This zone
can be a standard primary or AD Integrated as long as it supports dynamic
updates. You need to point your DC to the DNS server that hosts the domain
zone and restart the netlogon service followed by an ipconfig/registerdns
after verifying that the zone supports dynamic updates. Once the records
are registered, you should point the rest of your DCs (and domain members)
to this DNS Server for DNS. See:

291382 Frequently Asked Questions About Windows 2000 DNS and Windows Server
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=291382
265706 DCDiag and NetDiag in Windows 2000 Facilitate Domain Join and DC
Creation
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=265706
254680 DNS Namespace Planning
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=254680
240943 Dynamic DNS Host Name Registrations
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=240943
247811 How Domain Controllers Are Located in Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=247811
317590 HOW TO: Configure DNS Dynamic Update in Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=317590
316239 SRV Records Cannot Be Registered on a DNS Server
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=316239
260371 Troubleshooting Common Active Directory Setup Issues in Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=260371
287156 Troubleshooting Windows 2000 Domain Name System Dynamic Update
Problems
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=287156
298448 Windows 2000 DNS and Active Directory Information and Technical
Resources
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=298448
--------------------

Greetings!

Recently we had a DC fail and had to seize the FSMO roles on the other DC.
I'm now attempting to promote another Windows 2000 Server to a DC using
dcpromo and I'm having some problems.

The machine being promoted is currently the DNS server for the network. The
DNS is not active directory integrated. When I run dcpromo I'm presented
with the following error after entering the domain information.

Error----------------------------------------------------------------------

The wizard cannot gain access to the list of domains in the forest. This
condition may be caused by a DNS lookup problem. For information about
troubleshooting common DNS lookup problems, please see the following
Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=5171. The error is:
The specified domain either does not exist or could not be contacted.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've reviewed the referenced document and everything checked out okay as far
as the DNS being configured properly with A record, NS record, etc. One
document located at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/dns/tshoot/dns_tshoot2B.asp stated the
following:
Each of the following "subfolders" must be present in the DNS zone. There
will be DNS Service (SRV) records in them.
_MSDCS
_SITES
_TCP
_UDP

I do not find the subfolder in the DNS zone on the current DNS server. I
assume that they are something that should be there if the DNS is active
directory integrated. I may be wrong, however.

If anyone has any guidance for me on how to procede with getting past this
error it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Rod

__
Danny Slye
Microsoft Support Professional
MCSE

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
Please reply to the newsgroup so that others may benefit. Thanks!

 

[RLG]

Thank you Danny! I just successfully promoted the machine to a DC.

Rod