SUMMARY
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:
- Make sure that the WINS Servers are not Split Registered.
- 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
- Break Replication on all the WINS Servers.
- Re-create the WINS database on all the WINS Servers. Follow
the instructions in the "WINS Database Recreation" section below.
- Restart the PDCs. Required.
- Restart the BDCs. Optional, but highly recommended.
- Restart the Application/Database/File/Print Servers.
Optional, but recommended.
- Setup Replication. Hub & Spoke Model is highly
recommended.
- 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
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Wins
hive:
WinsinternalVersNoNextTime_HWWinsinternalVersNoNextTime_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:
- Locate the Control Panel, double-click the
Services icon, click Windows Internet Name
Service, and then click Stop.
- 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\ - 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
- 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:
- Click Start, point to
Settings, and then click Control Panel.
- Double-click the Services icon, click
Windows Internet Name Service, and then click
Stop.
- 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\. - 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:
- Click Start, point to
Settings, and click Control Panel.
- Double-click Administrative Tools,
double-click the Services icon, click Windows Internet
Name Service, and on the tool bar, click the Stop
icon.
- 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\ - Restart WINS.
When WINS is started, new WINS database files will be created.