Article ID: 942923 - Last Review: October 23, 2007 - Revision: 2.1

After you set the EnableDirectoryPartitions registry entry to 0 on a Windows Server 2003 DNS server, DNS scavenging fails, and event ID 2502 is logged

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SYMPTOMS

Consider the following scenario:
  • A Windows Server 2003 domain controller is running as a Domain Name System (DNS) server.
  • On the DNS server, you set the EnableDirectoryPartitions registry entry to 0 under the following registry subkey :
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\DNS\Parameters
In this scenario, DNS scavenging fails on the DNS server. Additionally, the following event is logged in the DNS server log:
Event Type: Information
Event Source: DNS
Event ID: 2502
Event Category: None
Description:
The DNS server has completed a scavenging cycle but no nodes were visited. 
Possible causes of this condition include:

1) No zones are configured for scavenging by this server.
2) A scavenging cycle was performed within the last 60 minutes.
3) An error occurred during scavenging.

The next scavenging cycle is scheduled to run in 0 hours.
The event data will contain the error code if there was an error during the scavenging cycle.
This problem occurs if one of the following is installed on the DNS server:
  • Hotfix 830689 that is described in the following article in Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    830689  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830689/ ) You cannot scavenge old DNS records after you restart the DNS service
  • Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1
  • Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2
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WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.
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Method 1

Use Windows 2000 servers as DNS scavenging servers. You can continue to use Windows Server 2003 DNS servers in the rest of your environment.
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Method 2

Do not host a Domain Naming Master operations master role (also known as flexible single master operations or FSMO) on Windows Server 2003 domain controllers. This configuration avoids creating DNS application partition. Therefore, you do not have to set the EnableDirectoryPartitions registry entry to 0.
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STATUS

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

You can use the EnableDirectoryPartitions registry entry to prevent default DNS application partitions from being automatically created. For more information, visit the following Microsoft TechNet Web site:
http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/4d8388e6-6ba0-4f08-b1d9-525bf949fa761033.mspx (http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/4d8388e6-6ba0-4f08-b1d9-525bf949fa761033.mspx)
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter x64 Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition for Itanium-Based Systems
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Keywords: 
kbtshoot kbexpertiseinter kbprb KB942923
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