file replication service missing on a dc

[j***@alumni.princeton.edu]

windows server 2003 (not R2). on one of my DCs, If I go to Services,
the file replication service simply isn't there. I know it used to be
there because FRS events are recorded in the event log. You have to
have it for a DC, don't you? I don't see how to add it back; does
anyone know how? it's configured as a file server in the "Configure
your Server" wizard. The only thing I've done to this server recently
(that might explain this problem) is to run the security configuration
wizard, but I did indicate that this server should be configured as a
DC and as a file server when I ran it. My current plan is to order the
R2 disks, upgrade to R2, and hope FRS comes back (but I really
shouldnt' have to do that).

[Jill Zoeller [MSFT]]

Is FRS running in Task Manager? It's possible the service is there but
you're not seeing it--could it be listed under a different long name, like
NT File Replication Service? I don't have a W2K3 Server handy to check this
with.
--
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Want to learn more about Windows Server file and storage technologies? Visit
our team blog at http://blogs.technet.com/filecab/default.aspx.

Post by j***@alumni.princeton.edu
windows server 2003 (not R2). on one of my DCs, If I go to Services,
the file replication service simply isn't there. I know it used to be
there because FRS events are recorded in the event log. You have to
have it for a DC, don't you? I don't see how to add it back; does
anyone know how? it's configured as a file server in the "Configure
your Server" wizard. The only thing I've done to this server recently
(that might explain this problem) is to run the security configuration
wizard, but I did indicate that this server should be configured as a
DC and as a file server when I ran it. My current plan is to order the
R2 disks, upgrade to R2, and hope FRS comes back (but I really
shouldnt' have to do that).

[Joseph]

it's not running in task manager. the task that you would see in task
manager is "ntfrs.exe," and the service would be "File Replication"
under Services snap-in. I can say this for sure because I have another
DC identically configured, and it has ntfrs.exe running and File
Replication listed as the service.

[Joseph]

here's what ended up happening. I did upgrade to R2, and that didn't
fix anything. I checked the registry, I think it was under
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services, and most of the keys under the
NtFrs server weren't even there. What happened to them was anyone's
guess, maybe a virus? So, I opened a $99 support ticket with
microsoft. I was able to export that NtFrs key from the working (see
the regedit /e command) DC that I had, and run the resulting .reg file
on the problem DC. This set up the registry key for NtFrs. Now, this
might have been enough to solve the FRS problem, but we took the
following extra steps since it was a DC. In these instructions,
emrap01 is the DC with the problem.

1. Boot the emrap01 into "Directory Services Restore Mode". To do this,

(1). Restart the secondary DC, and before boot into Windows, press F8.
(2). When the Windows Startup menu appears, select "Directory Services
Restore Mode", and then press ENTER. Log on with the administrator
account and password that is used for Directory Service Restore mode.

2. Make the registry change in Directory Services Restore Mode.
(1). Click Start, click Run, type in "regedit" (without the quotation
marks) and press ENTER to launch Registry Editor.
(2). Double-click the ProductType value under the following registry
key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ProductOptions

(3). Make sure to change it value to "ServerNT" (use the exact case
without the quotation marks), and then click OK .
(4). Quit Registry Editor and restart the server to normal mode. Log on
with the administrator account and password that is used for Directory
Service Restore mode.

3. The computer will behave as a member server now. However, there are
still some remaining files and registry entries on the computer that
are associated with the domain controller. To remove this data:

(1). Run Dcpromo.exe.
(2). Promote the computer to a domain controller for a new, temporary
domain, such as "psstemp.deleteme."

Note: Make sure that you promote the computer to a different forest.
(3). After the promotion, run Dcpromo.exe again, and then demote the
computer to a stand-alone server.

4. After that, you can run Dcpromo again to promote this server to a
secondary DC in your existing domain again.

[Dave Mills]

If you need to force the demotion of a DC see
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/332199

I don't know if you read this article but /forceremoval has worked for me when I
needed to downgrade a DC. I then ran DCPROMO to restore its DC function.

Post by Joseph
here's what ended up happening. I did upgrade to R2, and that didn't
fix anything. I checked the registry, I think it was under
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services, and most of the keys under the
NtFrs server weren't even there. What happened to them was anyone's
guess, maybe a virus? So, I opened a $99 support ticket with
microsoft. I was able to export that NtFrs key from the working (see
the regedit /e command) DC that I had, and run the resulting .reg file
on the problem DC. This set up the registry key for NtFrs. Now, this
might have been enough to solve the FRS problem, but we took the
following extra steps since it was a DC. In these instructions,
emrap01 is the DC with the problem.
1. Boot the emrap01 into "Directory Services Restore Mode". To do this,
(1). Restart the secondary DC, and before boot into Windows, press F8.
(2). When the Windows Startup menu appears, select "Directory Services
Restore Mode", and then press ENTER. Log on with the administrator
account and password that is used for Directory Service Restore mode.
2. Make the registry change in Directory Services Restore Mode.
(1). Click Start, click Run, type in "regedit" (without the quotation
marks) and press ENTER to launch Registry Editor.
(2). Double-click the ProductType value under the following registry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ProductOptions
(3). Make sure to change it value to "ServerNT" (use the exact case
without the quotation marks), and then click OK .
(4). Quit Registry Editor and restart the server to normal mode. Log on
with the administrator account and password that is used for Directory
Service Restore mode.
3. The computer will behave as a member server now. However, there are
still some remaining files and registry entries on the computer that
(1). Run Dcpromo.exe.
(2). Promote the computer to a domain controller for a new, temporary
domain, such as "psstemp.deleteme."
Note: Make sure that you promote the computer to a different forest.
(3). After the promotion, run Dcpromo.exe again, and then demote the
computer to a stand-alone server.
4. After that, you can run Dcpromo again to promote this server to a
secondary DC in your existing domain again.

[Joseph]

that didn't work for me because dcpromo /forceremoval failed because of
the NTFRS service missing. now that you mention it, though, I probably
could have exported the key NTFRS from my good DC, imported to my bad
DC, and then done dcpromo /forceremoval and maybe that would have
worked. I had already received instructions from microsoft to take
this other track, to I was sticking with it.

Post by Dave Mills
If you need to force the demotion of a DC see
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/332199
I don't know if you read this article but /forceremoval has worked for me when I
needed to downgrade a DC. I then ran DCPROMO to restore its DC function.