Domain Controller Server Object Not Removed After Demotion

After you demote a domain controller to a server, the object that represents the server in the Active Directory Sites and Services Manager snap-in remains.

This issue occurs because the server object is a "container" in the Active Directory and may hold child objects that represent configuration data for other services installed on your computer. Because of this, the Dcpromo utility does not automatically remove the server object.

WARNING: If the server object contains any child objects named "NTDS Settings," these are objects that represent the server as a domain controller and should be automatically removed by the demotion process. If this does not work, or a demotion could not be performed (for example, on a computer with malfunctioning hardware) these objects must be removed by using the Ntdsutil utility before you delete the server object.

After an administrator verifies that all other services with a dependency on the server object have been removed, or if the domain controller is being rebuilt and the decommissioning of the server could not be performed gracefully, an administrator can delete the server:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Sites and Services Manager.
2. Double-click the Sites branch to expand it, and then double-click the appropriate site's branch (the site the server resides in) to expand it.
3. Double-click the server's container, right-click the server object, and then click Delete.
4. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm deleting the object.
   

NOTE: This process may not finish successfully for either of the following reasons:

• If you receive a message that states the server is a container that contains other objects, verify that the appropriate decommissioning of services has completed before continuing.
• If you receive a message that states the DSA object cannot be deleted, you may be attempting to delete an active domain controller.

For more information about the Ntdsutil utility, refer to the Support Tools documentation on the Windows 2000 CD-ROM in the \Support\Tools folder.

An administrator may safely delete the server object in the Active Directory Sites and Services Management snap-in after all services have been removed and no child objects exist.