Checking proper promotion

After promoting a Windows Server installation to domain controller, it's recommended to check for proper promotion. Follow these steps to check:

  1. Check the logs: The following two files contain all of the actions performed when promoting the Windows Server installation to domain controller. A good way to check against improper promotion is to search for lines containing error and warning:
    • C:\Windows\Debug\dcpromo.log
    • C:\Windows\Debug\dcpromoui.log
  2. Check the event viewer: In event viewer (eventvwr.exe), new dedicated logs are created for Active Directory. Search these logs for any Active Directory-related errors.
  3. Run Windows Update: Even though one of the recommended steps is to update the Windows Server installation you intend to promote to a domain controller, it's also a recommended step to install Windows Updates after the Windows Server installation has been promoted, as updates apply to the newly installed server roles and features, too. These role-specific updates are only applied after the role is installed.