"The service cannot be started" error during AD DS configuration
Article
This article provides help to an error (The service cannot be started) that occurs when Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) configuration fails.
Original KB number: 2737880
Symptoms
In Windows Server 2012, one of the following AD DS configuration operations fails:
Configuring a new domain controller by using Server Manager or the AddsDeployment Windows PowerShell module
Removing AD DS from an existing domain controller by using Server Manager or the AddsDeployment Windows PowerShell module
Cloning a virtualized domain controller by using dccloneconfig.xml
When the configuration fails, you receive the following error message:
The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or it has no enabled devices associated with it.
Additionally, you see that the Dcpromoui.log file contains the following line of text:
Enter GetErrorMessage 80070422
Cause
This issue occurs because an administrator configured the "startup type" for the DS Role Server service (DsRoleSvc) to disabled. You can confirm this by using the Services.msc snap-in to examine the Startup type list on the General tab.
By default, the DS Role Server service is installed during AD DS role installation and is set to the Manual startup type.
Resolution
To resolve this issue, make sure that the DS Role Server service is not disabled. To do this, use Services.msc or Sc.exe to set the startup type to Manual and to let the DS Role Server operations start and stop the service on demand. For example, run the following command from an Administrator elevated command prompt:
sc.exe config dsrolesvc start= demand
Note
The space after the "start=" argument is intentional.
More information
This behavior is by design.
The DS Role Server service is new to Windows Server 2012 and is used to install or remove Active Directory or to clone domain controllers.
Learn how to troubleshoot AD DS service failures or degraded performance. Learn how to recover deleted security objects and the AD DS database, and how to troubleshoot hybrid authentication issues.