help windows 2000 server domain controller down

[punda]

the server is windows 2000 server and its a compaq proliant ml330.

when booted it comes to the windows screeen and hangs, same in safe mode also.

i can boot of the cd and get to the recovery console.
i run chkdsk/p and all is fine, but if i run chkdsk /r
it freezes at 55%

any ideas what else i can do to recover the environment (windows). is there a way to install windows without losing the domain names etc....

help...

 

[Haleon]

Punda,

If your server is a brandname server (like Dell or Compaq) try downloading the appropriate hardware diagnostics programs from the manufacturer website. That should help in diagnosing the problem you're having.

It *sounds* like you may have a harddrive dying on you. Hopefully you've been performing system state backups on your DC. If so, you can replace the hard drive, reinstall Windows on the server, boot into directory services restore mode, and use the backup program to reinstall the Active Directory data.

In order to minimize this situation in the future, give some serious consideration into creating a second domain controller for fault tolerance.

 

[punda]

i think my last backup was a few weeks back.
the system has mirrored drives. (ATA raid controller by lsi but sold under compaq).

any suggestions on how to get the second drive to work for me to recover if the 1st one is dying.

i feel like its more of a software corruption issue (operating system).

any suggestion on how to fix windows for a last time boot up.

 

[ncotton]

unless there is actually some physical matter or fault/crack in the disk it's self, the fact that it freezes in exactly the same spot suggests that it is deffinately a software problem. As Haleon suggested though. Download the compaq resource kit for your hardware and run that, see if it picks up any driver corruption, there may be a problem with the boot loader. Then boot from your windows CD and run an install > repair on the system drive. This (I hope) shouldn't overwrite any of your domain structure, just reload your system drivers and config files

WARNING!
check about Window Repair, cause me saying it wont overwrite is just a educated guess. Never tried it on a DC before.

Best of luck

Hope this helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[58sniper]

I agree. It's not likely a RAID problem.

Pat Richard, MCSE(2) MCSA:Messaging, CNA(2)

 

[punda]

could you please verify for me the install repair you are suggesting i mean is there anything specific that one executes when one is in the console mode. the only instructions i am familiar with are chkdsk and dir.

the only repair options i get are the console or an option for using a emergency repair disk, which off course i donot have.

if i select install i guess it will do a clean install for the server.

 

[Haleon]

The repair process that ncotton is referencing is the Windows 2000 repair option when you actually go into the install program. Boot up from the Windows 2000 Server CD like you would do for a normal OS install. When you get to the install options, you'll see the repair choice. If you put the server through repair mode, it will reload the system config files and drivers. And ncotton is correct in that it won't overwrite the domain structure. It's safe to do an install/repair on a DC.

As for the mirrored drive issue, you'd have to edit your boot.ini file to change the default OS path to load from the second hard drive in the mirror. You should be able to edit that file from within the recovery console. If not, you can create your own boot.ini file, save it on a floppy, and copy it to the hard drive from the recovery console. Here's a knowledgebase article about editing the boot.ini file.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;311578&sd=tech

I can't really give you specific instructions since I don't know your hardware, but if you can get your boot.ini file OFF of the drive and post it here, we can take a look at it and tell you how to make the proper edits.

Going back to the original issue though, I'm still not entirely sure the problem is software if it can't boot into safe mode either. If it was a driver corruption issue, safe mode should be loading safe drivers.

You can also try the last known good configuration option from the safe mode menu if you haven't successfully logged on since this problem started.

 

[ncotton]

That exactly what I mean Haleon, and Punda, Haleon is spot on with his advice about your mirroring issue.

I still think it may be software but it may be a loader service or anything, rather than a system driver it's self, which would mean that even safe mode wouldn't work. Safe Mode is like a striped mainblocks version of normal mode, if one of those mainblocks is damaged, neither option will work.

Give the isntall repair a shot, as I pointed out, and Haleon explained, and then see where that leaves you.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[Seaspray0]

Since this is a hardware mirror, then shut down the server and pull out the bad HDD. Replace it with a new HDD and reboot. Most hardware raids will rebuild the data on the new disk automatically. Some may require you to enter the bios for the controller and manually select this.



Start, Help. You'll be surprised what's there. A+/MCP/MCSE/MCDBA

 

[punda]

thanks, guys.

the hardware suggeston solved the problem.
as soon as i removed the primary drive (0) and left the secondary, the system booted up and worked like nothing was wrong. i then formated the primary drive in a different unit like a regular NTFS drive, and reinserted it in the server, i then went into the hardware raid and rebuilt the drive and seems like all is well.

i cant thank the response in the site enough, it gives you a clear mental path to resolutions one implements, sometimes the most obvious is missed under pressure.

thanks again to all .

 

[ncotton]

ont forget if there are any posts that help you, to mark them as valuable.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[SimonDavis]

Nice work.

Just something for you to also tuck away in your back of the mind 'I wonder if . . .' folders - I have a win2k server that did something very similar a while back. It turned out that the problem was caused by a pair of external drives (connected via USB) that were stopping the boot process.

When that server is rebooted, it's necessary to disconnect the drives, boot up, then reconnect and reactivate.

Not sure why it happens, but it took me about 2 hours (panicking, of course), to figure it out!

 

[AceHigh1234]

SimonDavis - This can usually be prevents in BIOS with a setting along the lines of "Boot to other Device" "Boot to external Device" or "Boot to USB device" depending on your BIOS brand etc