Forum Discussion
Windows 2003 R2 to Windows 2012 R2
It's been a while since I have been on this site. But, I need some help on this one. I have inherited a network that consists of a Windows 2003 R2 server Domain Controller, a Windows 2012 R2 server Domain Controller, and a Windows 2019 server that is not a domain controller, it is an RDP server. My problem is trying to decommission the old 2003 R2 server. Unfortunately there is no sysvol or netlogon shares on the 2012 server. So, I cannot retire it without losing Active Directory. The only thing I can think of is to bring a windows 2008R2 server into the domain to sync AD with FRS then upgrade it to DFSR. I'm pretty sure once I do that I can retire the 2003 R2 server. But that leaves me with another dilemma. That is I do not have a copy of 2008. I looked online and on ebay and I cannot find a copy for a fair price. Most want over $1000.00 and go up to $2000.00. I can find just the install disk, but have no key to activate it.
IF anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
Thank you
Doug
2 Replies
Sorry for the late reply, but I only go to this client once a week. I was able to download a copy of Windows 2008 R2 from the Microsoft download site and Installed it on a desktop that I had. The 2008 server works fine. You are correct, AD never did get converted from FRS to DFSR. Then I did something stupid. I was trying to replicate FRS to the new 2008 R2 server and it was giving me DNS errors as you can see from the screenshot. Then I did something stupid and did a non authoritative restore of active directory. Now active directory is not working at all and I do not have a backup of active directory on the 2003 server. The backup is only on the 2012 server, but I don't think that will help since AD was never replicated to that server.
I can still see the sysvol folders on the 2003 server, and it looks like most if not all the folders and files are still there. I can also connect to ADUC and other AD apps. I can see users and create new users. The only thing I don't know is if I can login as a new user because I am not there onsite. However, I cannot run gpupdate. But that makes sense because I know AD is not sharing the sysvol. I know that replication to the new server never happened to the 2008 server because It's gotten an Event ID 13508 in the File Replication Service log ever since I made the 2008 server a domain controller. To me it almost seems like there is no way out of this now. But let me know if you have any ideas.
Thank you
Doug
hi optdoug It sounds like your SYSVOL and NETLOGON replication never migrated from FRS to DFSR, which is why the 2012 R2 DC isn’t showing those shares. Unfortunately, a direct migration from Windows Server 2003 R2 to 2012 R2 isn’t supported for SYSVOL replication — you’ll need an intermediate domain controller running at least Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2 to handle the FRS-to-DFSR transition.
If you can’t get access to 2008 R2 media, you could:
Check with Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) or Visual Studio Subscriptions (MSDN) — they still provide ISO access for legacy OS versions.
Temporarily deploy a Windows Server 2008 R2 evaluation copy (still available via official Microsoft links). You can use it to complete the migration and then decommission it once the SYSVOL replication is working.
Ensure backups and verify AD health (dcdiag, repadmin /replsummary) before introducing or demoting any domain controllers.
Once replication is stable, you can safely demote and remove the 2003 R2 server.
