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Transfer or Seize FSMO Roles

Before Doing Anything

  1. Run "dcdiag" to make sure there are no major problems with the domain.
  2. Run "netdom /query fsmo" on all DCs to make sure they all agree.

Transferring FSMO roles to a new DC

Open Admin CMD

  • ntdsutil
    • roles
      • connections
        • connect to server [server name] <- the server you want to transfer the roles to
        • q
      • Transfer infrastructure master
      • Transfer naming master
      • Transfer PDC
      • Transfer RID master
      • Transfer schema master
      • q
    • q
  • exit

Seize FSMO roles to a new DC

It is preferable to transfer FSMO roles over Seizing them, however, if the old FSMO DC is no longer active/bootable, you will need to Seize. If that's the case, never reconnect the old FSMO server after roles have been seized.

The process is the same as above but replace "Transfer" with "Seize".

For a more detailed article go here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/255504/using-ntdsutil-exe-to-transfer-or-seize-fsmo-roles-to-a-domain-control