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Use Repadmin to remove lingering objects

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

You can use Repadmin to remove lingering objects when you reconnect a domain controller that has been offline for longer than a tombstone lifetime and you want to ensure that lingering objects do not exist or, if they do, that they are removed before they are replicated. You can also use this procedure when event ID 1388 or event ID 1988 is logged on a domain controller. In this case, the information that you need to perform the procedure is provided in the event. For information about removing lingering objects when event ID 1388 or event ID 1988 has been logged, see "Fixing Replication Lingering Object Problems (Event IDs 1388, 1988, 2042)."

If you are running the procedure preemptively, you must gather the following information before beginning the procedure:

  • Name of the server that has or might have lingering objects. This name can be the Domain Name System (DNS) name, NetBIOS name, or distinguished name of the domain controller.

  • Globally unique identifier (GUID) of the NTDS Settings object of a domain controller that is authoritative for the domain of the domain controller from which you want to remove lingering objects.

If necessary, use the following procedure to determine the GUID of a domain controller.

Administrative Credentials

To complete this procedure, you must be a member of the Domain Users group in the domain of the domain controller.

To determine the GUID of a domain controller

  1. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    repadmin /showreplDomainControllerName

    where DomainControllerName is the NetBIOS name of the domain controller whose GUID you want to determine.

  2. In the top portion of the output, note the value in DC object GUID:

If the destination domain controller and source domain controller are both running Windows Server 2003, you can remove lingering objects by using Repadmin. If either domain controller is running Windows 2000 Server, follow instructions in article 314282, "Lingering objects may remain after you bring an out-of-date global catalog server back online," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base on the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=37924).

Administrative Credentials

To complete this procedure, you must be a member of the Domain Admins group in the DirectoryPartition domain.

To use Repadmin to remove lingering objects

  1. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    Important

    There must be connectivity between the server that has or might have lingering objects and the server that has an up-to-date, writable replica of the directory partition.

    repadmin /removelingeringobjects ServerName ServerGUID DirectoryPartition /advisory_mode

    Term Definition

    ServerName

    The DNS name or the distinguished name of the domain controller that has or might have lingering objects.

    ServerGUID

    The GUID of a domain controller that has an up-to-date writable replica of the directory partition

    DirectoryPartition

    The distinguished name of the domain directory partition that might have lingering objects. For example, DC=RegionalDomainName,DC=ForestRootDomainName,DC=com. Also run the command against the configuration directory partition (CN=configuration,DC=ForestRootDomainName,DC=com), the schema directory partition (CN=schema,CN=configuration,DC=ForestRootDomainName), and any application directory partitions that are hosted on the domain controller you are checking for lingering objects.

    /advisory_mode logs the lingering objects that will be removed so that you can review them, but it does not remove them.

  2. If lingering objects are found, repeat step 1 without /advisory_mode to delete the identified lingering objects from the directory partition.

  3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for every domain controller that might have lingering objects.

Note

The ServerName parameter uses the DC_LIST syntax for repadmin, which allows the use of * for all domain controllers in the forest and gc: for all global catalog servers in the forest. To see the DC_LIST syntax, type repadmin /listhelp.

See Also

Concepts

Fixing Replication Lingering Object Problems (Event IDs 1388, 1988, 2042)