Error Message: DsRemoveDsDomainW Error 0x20ce

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

SYMPTOMS

When you try to use the "Remove Selected Domain" feature in the Ntdsutil tool, you may receive the following error message:

DsRemoveDsDomainW error 0x20ce (The requested delete operation could not be performed.)

CAUSE

This issue can occur if Ntdsutil determines that there are still domain controllers defined (servers with a NTDS Settings object) in the Active Directory for the domain you specify.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, locate the domain controllers that still have objects in the Active Directory before you try to remove the domain:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Command Prompt.



2. At the command prompt, type ntdsutil.



3. Type metadata cleanup, and then press ENTER.



4. Type connections, and then press ENTER.
   
   NOTE: You can use this menu to connect to the specific server where the changes occur. For the removal of a domain, this requires connecting to a server in the parent domain or root domain of the forest. If the currently logged on user does not have administrative permissions, alternate credentials can be supplied by specifying the credentials to use before making the connection. To do so, type set creds domain nameusernamepassword, and then press ENTER. For a null password, type null for the password parameter.



5. Type connect to server servername, and then press ENTER.
   
   NOTE: You should receive confirmation that the connection is successfully established. If an error occurs, verify that the domain controller being used in the connection is available and the credentials you provided have administrative permissions on the server.



6. Type quit, and then press ENTER. The Metadata Cleanup menu is displayed.



7. Type select operation target, and then press ENTER.



8. Type list domains, and then press ENTER. A list of domains in the forest and their associated numbers should be displayed.



9. If the domain to be removed is not present in the list, the metadata has already been removed from the Active Directory, and you should skip the following steps. If it is present, type select domain number, and then press ENTER, where number is the number associated with the domain that is being removed. The domain you select is used in the following steps to determine which servers exist for that domain.



10. Type list sites, and then press ENTER.



11. Type select site number, and then press ENTER, where number is the number associated with the site you want to search for domain controllers. You should receive a confirmation listing the site and domain you chose.



12. Type list servers for domain in site, and then press ENTER.



13. If any servers are displayed, each one must be removed before Ntdsutil can successfully remove the domain metadata. For more information about removing remaining objects from servers that no longer exist, please refer to the following article in the Knowledge Base:

    Q216498 Removing Active Directory Data After an Unsuccessful Demotion




14. Repeat steps 9-13 for each site defined in the Active Directory. After all servers have been removed, you can retry the operation to remove the domain from the Active Directory.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

Before a selected domain is removed from the Active Directory, Ntdsutil confirms that all objects representing domain controllers for this domain have been removed. The objects in the Active Directory that represent configuration data for domain controllers take the form of "NTDS Settings" objects that exist as a child to the server object in the Active Directory Sites and Services Manager.

For more information about the Ntdsutil tool, refer to the Support Tools documentation located in the Support\Reskit folder on the Windows 2000 CD-ROM. The Microsoft Windows 2000 Resource Kit contains an Ntdsutil.doc file that describes the NTDSUTIL utility in greater detail.

Additional query words: 2000

Keywords : kberrmsg kbnetwork kbtool
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb