Thursday, March 4, 2010

DFS Error - Windows Server 2008

In Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 when trying to add a DFS namespace that use to be there but is now deleted you may recieve the following error:

The server you specified already hosts a namespace with this name. Please select another namespace name or another server to host the namespace.



This is because sometimes it leaves registry keys behind. To fix it:

1. Run “dfsutil.exe diag viewdfsdirs c: RemoveReparse” to remove all DFS folders from this host (it’s not possible to remove only a part of them, so be sure). If your DFSRoot was not placed on the c: drive, replace the parameter “c:” with the proper drive letter. NOTE THIS REMOVES ALL NAMESPACES (be careful on production DFS servers)

2. Delete the following three registry keys/values:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfs\Roots\Domain\YourOldNamespace
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Shares\YourOldNamespaceShare
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Shares\Security\YourOldNamespaceShare

3. Reboot your Windows Server. The restart of the both services Dfs (DFS Namespace) and LanmanServer (Server) is not sufficient enough.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks saved my day from rebuild the system

    ReplyDelete
  2. 'dfsutil.exe' is not a recognized as an internal or external command...

    This is on 2008 R2

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'dfsutil.exe' is not a recognized as an internal or external command...

      Install DFS-Features an it works fine

      Delete
  3. I had legacy registry entries after a server rename. I also had to delete the HKLM\software\Microsoft\DFS\Roots\domainv2\youroldnamespaceshare , and then it worked for me, Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete