Error Domain Ctrlr Config Error: How to Fix it

If you’re a server administrator, you might encounter an ERROR_DOMAIN_CTRLR_CONFIG_ERROR code. This issue can interfere with the performance of your server, so let’s see how we can fix this issue once and for all.

How can I fix ERROR_DOMAIN_CTRLR_CONFIG_ERROR?

1. Run diagnostics

1. Open the command line.
2. Next, run dcdiag /v
   
3. Look for any error related to DNS issues, services, or replication.
4. Look into each error and try to fix it.

2. Check DNS configuration

1. Open the command line.
2. Next, run nslookup
   
   
3. Ensure that the server is pointing to the correct DNS server.
4. Also, ensure that DNS zones exist and that they are working properly.

3. Verify FSMO rules

1. Once again, open the command line.
2. Check the FSMO rule holders with the following command: netdom query fsmo
    
3. If the roles are missing or not accessible, use the ntdsutil command to transfer them.
   

4. Check the replication status

1. Open the command line.
2. Next, run repadmin /replsummary
   
3. Check for replication failures and address them.

5. Repromote the server

1. Open the command line.
2. Next, demote the server with dcpromo
   
3. Next, reprompt it to the domain controller with the following commands:
   Add-WindowsFeature AD-Domain-Services
Install-ADDSForest

6. Check Event Viewer

1. Press the Windows key + X.
2. Select Event Viewer from the list.
   
3. Next, navigate to Windows Logs and then System and look for DNS or network errors.
   
4. You can also go to Applications and Services Logs and select Directory Service for AD-specific issues.

If you notice any errors, analyze them and try to resolve them.

ERROR_DOMAIN_CTRLR_CONFIG_ERROR also comes with the following message 581 (0x245) A Windows Server has an incorrect configuration, and as you can see, it’s usually related to server configuration.

This isn’t the only issue you can encounter, we wrote about ERROR_LOGON_SERVER_CONFLICT and ERROR_DUP_NAME, so feel free to check them out as well.