When you perform a system state backup on a domain controller that is running Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2, Backup may fail

When you try to perform a system state backup on a domain controller that is running Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2, Backup may fail. Additionally, Backup may report the following error in the Backup.log file: Because you cannot perform system state backups, objects in the Active Directory directory service cannot be restored on domain controllers. Therefore, you cannot perform the following tasks:

• Restore deleted objects
• Recover from database corruption
• Restore Active Directory on computers that cannot load the Active Directory database after an unscheduled shutdown

In Windows Server 2003 with SP1 and Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2, Backup works when the operating system, the database, and the log files are all on the same volume or all on different volumes. However, Backup fails when only one volume, either the DIT volume or the log volume, is on the system drive. If both volumes are on the system drive or if both volumes are not on the system drive, Backup succeeds.

Note The DIT volume contains the Active Directory database file (.dit).

A timing issue that involves the Volume Shadow Copy Service and Backup prevents Windows Server 2003-based domain controllers from completing the system state backup operation. In this case, Backup cannot return the following information before the volume shadow copy has been created:

• The names of volumes that host the operating system
• The name of the Active Directory database
• The names of the log files

This behavior confuses the NTDS writer, and it stops creating what would be an incomplete backup.

Additionally, the Volume Shadow Copy Service was modified in Windows Server 2003 SP1 to rely on Backup to add the volumes that host the operating system, the Active Directory database, and the log files to the snapshot set.

When system state backups are made, Backup may not include all volumes that host Active Directory information.

The following table lists the outcome for five scenarios where the DIT volume, the operating system, and the log files are stored across one to three volumes. Backup cannot create system state backups for scenarios 3 and 4 when Windows Server 2003 SP1 is installed.

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1

Locate the operating system, the database, and the log files according to scenarios 1, 2 or 5. Drive letter assignments on the domain controllers do not have to match those in the table.

You may have to relocate a DIT volume or Active Directory log files from a domain controller that has restarted in Directory Services Repair Mode. For information about how to do this, see the "How to move the database" or "How to move the log files" sections of the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Method 2

If a domain controller configuration corresponds to scenarios 3 and 4, select any file on the volume that includes Active Directory database files in the right pane of NTBACKUP. This file can be a dummy file. In this configuration, this volume is backed up by NTBACKUP.

Method 3

Use a third-party backup application that is not affected by this problem.

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

In the original release version of Windows Server 2003, Backup does not use the Volume Shadow Copy Service to back up the Active Directory database and the log files.