Unable to rename Windows 2000 Server

[pjcarmen]

Ok, weird problem. I removed a server (server1) from the windows 2000 domain using dcpromo. I then removed that server from AD, (It was listed as a member server after DCPROMO). Now I want to rename a NEW server to server1, and I get an error that says:

"The following error occured while attempting to rename the computer to "Server1": The account already exists."

Any clue, I have looked around, and can't seem to locate anywhere where I may have missed this.

Thanks

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~Paul~
TechMonkey

 

[mlichstein]

So the server is in a workgroup now? Are you trying to rename it to a unique name? Are you sure that name isn't being used on the network?

 

[pjcarmen]

Well, the server is a member of the domain right now. I am trying to rename this NEW server to match the OLD server name. The old server is removed, and was removed from the domain with the DCPROMO command.

-Paul

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~Paul~
TechMonkey

 

[mlichstein]

Did you check to see if the old computer account still exists in the domain controllers OU?

 

[BBGCORP]

Try looking at this - Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 216498. I ran in to the same problem, and had to remove the old servers this way

 

[pjcarmen]

No luck. I went through that article, no remnants of the old server remain. It was removed properly using DCPROMO. The error remains though.

Ugg, what a pain.

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~Paul~
TechMonkey

 

[Davetoo]

Try manually adding the name into the Computer object, then adding the server using the same name.

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[BBGCORP]

You may want to check your DNS and WINS settings and purge any that still have the old server name residing

 

[pjcarmen]

Thanks all. I did remove all WINS entries as well as DNS entries, no luck. I also tried manually adding the server to AD. No luck there either. AD complained that the pre-windows 2000 name was already in use. Ugg, not a total loss really. I maen the thing works like a charm, its just using the wrong name. Lucky for me only a handful of people actually connect to this server, so making that adjustment is no big deal. I still hope to resolve this, some day.

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~Paul~
TechMonkey