FIX: A dialog box appears and unattended removal fails when you try to use the Active Directory Installation Wizard command line tool together with the /forceremoval switch in Windows Server 2003

Consider the following scenario. You try to force an unattended removal of Active Directory by running the Active Directory Installation Wizard (Dcpromo.exe) command line tool together with the /forceremoval switch on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based domain controller. An augmentation of the /forceremoval switch determines that the domain controller from which you are removing Active Directory holds a critical role.

In this scenario, a dialog box appears to ask the user to confirm the removal of Active Directory. Therefore, the unattended removal fails.

Note Examples of critical roles include operations master, global catalog, and Domain Name System (DNS).

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

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. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

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, contact 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

You must have Windows Server 2003 SP1 installed to apply this hotfix.

Restart requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.
Windows Server 2003, x86-based versionsWindows Server 2003, x64-based versionsWindows Server 2003, Itanium-based versions

To work around this problem, remove critical roles from the domain controller before you remove Active Directory from the domain controller.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section of this article. This problem was first corrected in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

This hotfix provides support for an additional option in the unattended answer file that bypasses the following prompts for critical roles.
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: