Many services do not start successfully after you restart a Windows Server 2003-based domain controller

Consider the following scenario:

• You have a domain controller that is running Windows Server 2003.
• The Ntds.dit file on the domain controller has a large size, for example 60 gigabytes (GB).
• You restart the domain controller.

In this scenario, many services on the domain controller do not start successfully. Therefore, the domain controller cannot authenticate user requests.

Note You can manually start these services after this issue occurs.

This issue occurs because of a time-out in initializing the active directory database (Ntds.dit file) that is caused by the large file size and possibly a large amount of file fragmentation.

After you install the following hotfix package, the default time-out value is increased to align with increasing hardware capabilities. The package also enables administrators to manually set the time-out to wait indefinitely, in case the new default value also becomes insufficient in the future.

To manually set the time-out to wait indefinitely, follow these steps:

1. Click Start
   , type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press Enter.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   
   HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\
3. If SamWaitNoTimeout is not present, click Edit, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
4. Type SamWaitNoTimeout, press Enter, and then click Modify.
5. If SamWaitNoTimeout is present, Right-click SamWaitNoTimeout, and then click Modify.
6. In the Value data box, type 1.
7. Exit Registry Editor.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must be running Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2).

For more information about how to obtain a Windows Server 2003 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Registry information

To use the hotfix in this package, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The global version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

Windows Server 2003 file information notes

• In addition to the files that are listed in these tables, this hotfix also installs an associated security catalog file (KBnumber.cat) that is signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows Server 2003

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2003

For all supported IA-64�based versions of Windows Server 2003

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: