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This chapter is from the book

Rename a Domain Controller

Solution: The netdom command-line tool can be used to rename a Windows Server 2008 DC.

To rename a domain controller, perform the following steps using an AD DS account that has membership in one of the following AD DS groups:

  • Domain Admins
  • Enterprise Admins
  1. Log on to the domain controller you want to rename.
  2. Click Start and click Command Prompt.
  3. In the Command Prompt window, type netdom computername CurrentComputerName /add:NewComputerName, where CurrentComputerName is the current FQDN name and NewComputerName is the new FQDN name. Then press ENTER.
  4. Ensure the computer account updates and DNS registrations are completed. In the Command Prompt window, type netdom computername CurrentComputerName /makeprimary:NewComputerName, where CurrentComputerName is the current FQDN name and NewComputerName is the new FQDN name. Then press ENTER.
  5. In the Command Prompt window, type netdom computername NewComputerName /remove:OldComputerName, where CurrentComputerName is the current FQDN name and NewComputerName is the new FQDN name. Then press ENTER.

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