How to Replace Domain Controller Windows

There are times when you may want to replace your Windows Server domain controller with a new one, either because you're upgrading to the latest version of Windows, or simply because you want to increase network performance with a newer piece of hardware. 

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Instructions Prerequisites

• Ensure that your network contains only a single domain with a single domain controller, and that the domain controller is running Windows Server 2003 or higher.
• The single domain controller should run all of the basic network services, such as DHCP, DNS, WINS, as well as file and print services.
• There should be no additional server applications running on your domain controller, such as SQL or Exchange.

On the New Domain Controller

• Install the new server with Windows Server 2003 (or higher). Then promote your new server to a domain controller by going to "Start," "Run," "dcpromo.exe" and "OK."
• Promote the new domain controller to act as a global catalog server. To do this, open "Active Directory Sites and Services" and double-click on your target domain controller. On the details pane, right-click "NTDS Settings" and then select "Properties." On the "General" tab, check the box next to "Global Catalog," then reboot your server in order for the changes to take effect.
• Install the DNS Server service on your new domain controller, and set the local IP of the new domain controller as the DNS server. Optionally, if your network uses WINS, you can also install the WINS service on your new domain controller, and change the domain controller's IP settings to point to the local IP address as the WINS server IP address.
• Move the Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) role to the new domain controller. In order to do this, go to "Start," "Programs," "Administrative Tools" and "Active Directory Users and Computers." Right-click on the "Active Directory Users and Computers" icon, and then click "Operation Masters." Select the roles that you wish to transfer to the new domain controller. In the "Change Operations Master" dialog box, click "Change." Then click "OK" to confirm that you want to transfer the role to the new domain controller.
• Install DHCP server on your new domain controller, and migrate your DHCP settings from the old server. Also install any necessary third-party applications, such as backup software and antivirus applications.

On the Old Domain Controller

• Demote the old domain controller from being a global catalog server. To do this, as you did with the new domain controller, open "Active Directory Sites and Services" and double-click on your target domain controller. On the details pane, right-click "NTDS Settings" and then select "Properties." On the "General" tab, clear the check box next to "Global Catalog" to remove the global catalog role. You will then need to reboot your server in order for the changes to take effect.
• Demote the old domain controller by removing its domain controller status. To do this, go to "Start," "Run," "dcpromo.exe" and "OK." When the Active Directory Installation Wizard begins, check the box to "Remove Active Directory." Follow the prompts as necessary to complete this task.
• Migrate printer settings to the new domain controller by using the "Windows Print Migrator 3.1" tool. Then migrate your file server settings with the "Microsoft File Server Migration Toolkit." Uninstall any other unnecessary services on the old domain controller.
• Edit your users' profiles and/or logon scripts to use the new domain controller as their file and print server.
• 13 Re-register all users' computers in your domain by using ipconfig /release and ipconfig /renew.