How to Manually Recreate a WINS Database

If the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) database is corrupted, you may have to delete and re-create the WINS database files. This article explains how to delete and re-create WINS database files.

If multiple WINS servers are involved, you may have to schedule a maintenance window.

Use the following steps to prepare before the scheduled maintenance window:

1. Make sure that the WINS Servers are not Split Registered.
2. A few days before the maintenance is scheduled to occur (about half the Renewal Interval - for Windows NT 4.0 it will be three days), set the Renewal Interval (WINS Server Configuration in WINS Manager) to two hours on all WINS servers.

Rebuild process

1. Break Replication on all the WINS Servers.
2. Re-create the WINS database on all the WINS Servers. Follow the instructions in the "WINS Database Recreation" section below.
3. Restart the PDCs. Required.
4. Restart the BDCs. Optional, but highly recommended.
5. Restart the Application/Database/File/Print Servers. Optional, but recommended.
6. Setup Replication. Hub & Spoke Model is highly recommended.
7. Reset Renewal Interval on all the WINS Servers to the default settings:
   
   Windows NT 4.0 = 144hrs
   Windows NT 3.51 = 96hrs.

Note: Restarting PDCs, BDCs, and essential Servers registers them with WINS. Lack of registration causes Name Resolution problems. Since the <1b> entry is registered by the PDC and this entry is required for many domain-related functions such as browsing, Netlogon, and others, you must restart the PDC.

WINS database recreation

Note: The procedure for recreating Wins.mdb is different for Windows NT Server 3.51 and Windows NT Server 4.0.

Note: The version ID will remain at the last save counter unless you reset the value in the registry. The Version IDs are stored in the following registry keys that are located in the hive:

WinsinternalVersNoNextTime_HW
WinsinternalVersNoNextTime_LW

To correctly initialize the Version ID Counter, set both Keys to 0 (zero). Both keys have the Data Type REG_DWORD.

Windows NT Server 3.51

To delete and recreate your WINS database, follow these steps:

1. Locate the Control Panel, double-click the Services icon, click Windows Internet Name Service, and then click Stop.
2. Create a temporary folder (for example, WINS_Old). Move the current contents of the WINS folder to the temporary folder.
   
   WINS is located at: %SystemRoot%\System32\WINS\
3. Copy the System.mdb file from your original Windows NT 3.51 source media, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER after each line:
   copy D:\i386\System.md_ %SystemRoot%\System32\WINS\System.md_
   
   expand %SystemRoot%\System32\WINS\System.md_ %SystemRoot%\System32\WINS\System.mdb
   
   Note: The expand command line above is all on one line, it has been wrapped for readability.
   
   
4. Restart WINS.

When WINS is restarted, new WINS database files are created.

Windows NT Server 4.0

To delete and recreate your WINS database, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Services icon, click Windows Internet Name Service, and then click Stop.
3. Create a temporary folder (for example, WINS_Old). Move the current contents of the WINS folder to the temporary folder.
   
   WINS is located at: %SystemRoot%\System32\WINS\.
4. Restart WINS.

When WINS is started, new WINS database files will be created.

Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003

To delete and re-create your WINS database, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Administrative Tools, double-click the Services icon, click Windows Internet Name Service, and on the tool bar, click the Stop icon.
3. Create a temporary folder (for example, WINS_Old). Move the current contents of the WINS folder to the temporary folder.
   
   WINS is located at: %SystemRoot%\System32\WINS\
4. Restart WINS.

When WINS is started, new WINS database files will be created.