Article ID: 259883 - Last Review: February 27, 2007 - Revision: 3.2

Upgrading Windows NT4.0 Domain Controller with FAT File System Does Not Install Active Directory

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This article was previously published under Q259883

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SYMPTOMS

When you upgrade a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0-based primary domain controller (PDC) or backup domain controller (BDC) that uses the FAT file system to Windows 2000 Server or Advanced Server, you receive the following error message after the computer reboots if you do not convert the file system to NTFS during the Setup process:

This computer has no disk drives formatted for the NTFS 5.0 file system. Because the Sysvol folder is replicated among domain controllers, that folder must be on a disk formatted with NTFS version 5.0.

(You can convert drives formatted with the FAT file system with the convert.exe command-line tool.)

If the computer is the only domain controller in the domain, the following message is logged in the System log:

Event ID: 5719
Source: Netlogon
Type: Error
Description: No Windows NT or Windows 2000 Domain Controller is available for domain YOURDOMAIN. The following error occurred: There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request.

No domain accounts will be visible on the server.

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CAUSE

Installing Active Directory requires an NTFS volume because of the replication of the Sysvol share among Windows 2000-based domain controllers.

If you choose not to convert to NTFS during installation, the Windows NT 4.0-based domain controller is upgraded to Windows 2000, but it is not a domain controller until you convert the drive to NTFS.

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RESOLUTION

After you convert the drive to NTFS and reboot the computer, the Active Directory Installation Wizard runs automatically. The domain accounts appear after Active Directory has been installed.

For additional information about converting from FAT to NTFS, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

214579 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214579/EN-US/ ) How to Use Convert.exe to Convert a Partition to NTFS

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