Here is the process to restore a deleted DFS Namespace:
Note
This is based on the assumption of a corruption of DFS.
If the DFS Object was deleted via the DFS Console or the Shared Folder was deleted, please add the extra step of restoring the Shared Folder
- Perform an Agent Restore of the DFS Object in AD using RMAD
- Open the Online Restore Wizard
- Select Compare | Restore then Report Changes in Active Directory and click Next
- Select the Domain and click Next
- Select the Backup to use and click Next
- Select the Path for the Unpacked Backups and click Next
- Click Next once the Backup has been extracted
- Uncheck Use Agentless method to access Domain Controller and click Next
- Click Add | Browse
- Check Show Advanced Objects
- Expand System | Dfs-Configuration
- Select the DFS Object(s) to restore and click OK
- Complete the rest of the Online Restore Wizard to restore the AD Object - Restore the appropriate Registry Key on the DFS Host
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DFS\Roots\Domain (Windows 2003/Windows 2008)
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DFS\Roots\domainV2 (Windows 2008 and above)
- Note:
- RMAD cannot directly perform this step
- Make sure to have a System State Backup of the DFS Host or at a minimum a Backup of the Registry - This backup has to be of a supported format to be able to use RMAD
- Extract the Registry from the Backup
- Open Regedit and load Software in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ as a Hive (give it a name such as Restore)
- Open the Hive and navigate to the Key as mentioned above in Step 2
- Extract the values in the Key and insert them in the right location after making sure to fix the path on all DFS Hosts that have no values under the key
- Restart the DFS Namespace service on all DFS Hosts
- The DFS Namespace will now appear again automatically the next time you open the DFS Console
If the DFS Namespace appears with an error, please check your Shared Folders to confirm if the Shared Folder used by the DFS Namespace is still present.
If not, please restore from a Backup the appropriate entries from the following Registry Keys:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Shares
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Shares\Security
- Once, the Registry Keys have been restore, restart the Server service on the impacted Hosts
- Check the Shared Folders to confirm if the Shared Folder required by DFS are now visible
- Open DFS Console and check if the issue is resolved
Windows Registry Disclaimer
Support does not provide support for problems that arise from improper modification of the registry.
The Windows registry contains information critical to your computer and applications.
Make sure you back up the registry before modifying it.
For more information on the Windows Registry Editor and how to back up and restore it, refer to Microsoft Article ID 256986 “Description of the Microsoft Windows registry” at Microsoft Support.