Performing Authoritative Restore of an Application Directory Partition
Applies To: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2
A restore of an application directory partition marks all data that is present in the partition as authoritative for the replica set. The information that an application directory partition contains replicates to all domain controllers in the forest that were previously present in the replica set. You should have a current valid backup of the application directory partition before you begin the authoritative restore, in the event that particular object changes are lost because of changes since the backup was created.
If you deleted an entire application directory partition, you must perform the restore procedure on the domain naming operations master role holder.
Before you perform the procedures in this task, back up the domain controller that you are restoring. For information about creating backups, see Backing Up Active Directory Domain Services.
Task requirements
The following tools are required to perform the procedures for this task:
Remote Desktop Connection (optional)
Bcdedit.exe (optional)
Ntdsutil.exe
To complete this task, perform the following procedures:
Restart the domain controller in Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM), as follows:
Restart the Domain Controller in Directory Services Restore Mode Locally
Or
Restart the Domain Controller in Directory Services Restore Mode Remotely
Restore AD DS from Backup (Nonauthoritative Restore). Do not restart the domain controller.
Restart the domain controller normally.