ASR cannot perform an authoritative primary restore on the first Windows Server 2003 domain controller in a domain

You cannot use Automated System Recovery (ASR) to perform an authoritative primary restore when you install a new Microsoft Windows Server 2003 computer that is the first domain controller in a domain. However, you can use the Backup feature to perform an authoritative primary restore when you install a new Windows Server 2003 domain controller that is the first domain controller in a domain.

This problem occurs because the Sysvol folder cannot be restored authoritatively when you use ASR to perform an authoritative primary restore on a new Microsoft Windows Server 2003 computer that is the first domain controller in a domain.

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
To work around this problem, follow these steps:

1. Stop the File Replication service (FRS). To do this, click Start, click Run, type net stop ntfrs, and then click OK.
2. Set the BurFlags registry subkey value to D4. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, click Run, type Regedit, and then click OK.
   2. Locate and then click the following subkey:
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NtFrs\Parameters\Backup/Restore\Process at Startup
   3. Right-click the BurFlags registry subkey, and then click Modify.
   4. Type D4 in the Value data box, click Hexadecimal, and then click OK.
   5. Close Registry Editor.
3. Move all the files in the C:\Windows\sysvol\sysvol\DNSDomainName\NtFrs_PreExisting folder to the C:\Windows\sysvol\sysvol\DNSDomainName folder.
   
   Note In this step, C is a placeholder for the actual drive, and DNSDomainName is a placeholder for the actual Domain Name System (DNS) domain name.
4. Start the FRS. To do this, click Start, click Run, type net start ntfrs, and then click OK.
5. Use ASR to perform an authoritative primary restore on the Windows Server 2003 domain controller.
   
   For more information about how to perform an authoritative primary restore on a Windows Server 2003 domain controller, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/E96185F5-50B7-4B14-A2FD-0155D6B174F91033.mspx (http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/E96185F5-50B7-4B14-A2FD-0155D6B174F91033.mspx)

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.