Why does second domain controller not display

windows windows-server-2003 active-directory domain-controller

5,338

You're not very clear what you're talking about here, so I'll have to do some guessing.

Guess #1 - you don't see DC2 in the Domain Controllers OU

The first thing you want to do is check how many DCs you actually have. The command netdom query dc will show this. If you only see DC1, then DC2 isn't actually a domain controller.

If both are listed as DCs, then someone's moved DC2 out of that OU - move it back.

Guess #2 - you can't connect to DC2 from the ADUC console

Again, run netdom query dc and see what it says. If it lists two DCs and you can only connect to DC1, then something on DC2 is broken - comb through the event logs. If it returns only one DC, then DC2 isn't actually a domain controller.

Guess #3 - you're talking about the DC that is displayed at the top of the navigation pane in ADUC

Screenshot

This is normal. The console will prefer to connect to the PDC Emulator if possible unless you've explicitly connected to a different server by right-clicking and selecting "Change Domain Controller."

5,338

Prince Nnamdi

A Nigerian, just graduated from the university with a bsc in Computer Science and Information Technology. I write programs as a hobby

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Prince Nnamdi over 1 year

We have 2 domain controllers DC1 and DC2, both sharing the same AD database The "Active directory users and computer" console of both DC1 and DC2 display DC1 only, under "Domain Controllers".

what can i do to resolve this?
- Prince Nnamdi over 10 years
  
  both servers are running windows server 2003
- MDMarra over 10 years
  
  Where exactly does it display this? Can you link to a screenshot?
- Nathan C over 10 years
  
  What shows when you go to Action -> Change Domain Controller?
- Prince Nnamdi over 10 years
  
  @MDMarra imgur.com/qeSuwT7
- Prince Nnamdi over 10 years
  
  @NathanC there is no option like that. its a server 2003 os
- MDMarra over 10 years
  
  @PrinceNnamdi see "guess #1" in my answer below.
Prince Nnamdi over 10 years

guess number 1 is correct
Prince Nnamdi over 10 years

DC2 doesnt show up in the OU
Prince Nnamdi over 10 years

netdom command isnt available in server 2003, and i cant see DC2 anywhere. Both are AD DC. thanks
MDMarra over 10 years

Netdom is part of the 2003 admin pack - a free download from technet. You should have it installed, it has excellent tools in it.