Deinstalling and Reinstalling DNS Does Not Take Out the Trash

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Suppose you've totally hosed your DNS configuration and you want to start over. You might think using Add/Remove Software | Windows Components | DNS to remove and then install DNS would clean house. Does it? The answer most emphatically is NO. You must find the physical location of the DNS database and manually delete it or else certain ghostly remnants of the previous incarnation will reappear. That is most inconvenient. I found this behavior while trying to add a redundant DC to a domain. The computer refused to cooperate because, it complained, it could not find the SRV RR in DNS. The tree structure that dcpromo indirectly created in DNS (as it helpfully installed DNS for me) was missing _ldap etc. where the SRV would have, should have gone. In my opinion removing DNS should remove the DNS database, too. Optionally, the user interface can give the option to take out the trash or live with it.
 
In
Mark Rockman said:
Suppose you've totally hosed your DNS configuration and you want to
start over. You might think using Add/Remove Software | Windows
Components | DNS to remove and then install DNS would clean house.
Does it? The answer most emphatically is NO. You must find the
physical location of the DNS database and manually delete it or else
certain ghostly remnants of the previous incarnation will reappear.
That is most inconvenient. I found this behavior while trying to add
a redundant DC to a domain. The computer refused to cooperate
because, it complained, it could not find the SRV RR in DNS. The
tree structure that dcpromo indirectly created in DNS (as it
helpfully installed DNS for me) was missing _ldap etc. where the SRV
would have, should have gone. In my opinion removing DNS should
remove the DNS database, too. Optionally, the user interface can
give the option to take out the trash or live with it.
Click to expand...

You probably didn't delete the system32\dns folder. I wouldn't say they are
"ghostly" remanants, but rather the DNS zones and other files that were
installed from the previous installation, which do not get deleted by
default. I would also recommend to delete the HKLM\CCS\Services\DNS reg key,
then restart, then reinstall it.

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Regards,
Ace

Please direct all replies to the newsgroup so all can benefit.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2000, MCSE+I, MCSA, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Active Directory
 
In
Mark Rockman said:
Suppose you've totally hosed your DNS configuration and you want to
start over. You might think using Add/Remove Software | Windows
Components | DNS to remove and then install DNS would clean house.
Does it? The answer most emphatically is NO. You must find the
physical location of the DNS database and manually delete it or else
certain ghostly remnants of the previous incarnation will reappear.
That is most inconvenient. I found this behavior while trying to add
a redundant DC to a domain. The computer refused to cooperate
because, it complained, it could not find the SRV RR in DNS. The
tree structure that dcpromo indirectly created in DNS (as it
helpfully installed DNS for me) was missing _ldap etc. where the SRV
would have, should have gone. In my opinion removing DNS should
remove the DNS database, too. Optionally, the user interface can
give the option to take out the trash or live with it.
Click to expand...

That is why you use this process: 294328 - How to Reinstall a Dynamic DNS
Active Directory- Integrated Zone
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q294328&FR=1
 
Also, if the zone was stored in AD, then it's going to come right back after the reinstall unless you specifically delete the zone first. This is certainly by design.
Otherwise, if you uninstall DNS on one DC, it could potential wreck AD if it also deleted the zones. That would be a bad idea.

94328 - How to Reinstall a Dynamic DNS
Active Directory- Integrated Zone http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q294328

Thank you,
Mike Johnston

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