"Directory Object Not Found" error during Dcpromo.exe after you upgrade a Windows NT-based primary domain controller (248079)

SYMPTOMS

After you upgrade a Microsoft Windows NT-based primary domain controller (PDC) to Windows 2000, the Active Directory Installation Wizard may not succeed and may generate the following error message:

The operation failed because:

The Directory Service (DS) is missing critical information after installation and cannot proceed. If this is a replica, please rejoin the machine to the domain.

Directory object not found.

CAUSE

After it creates all the domain objects and transfers the security principals to the Directory service, Windows 2000 searches Active Directory for:

The Domain object
The Administrator account Well-Known Security Identifier, or SID (the account name can be renamed)
the Administrators group
the Users group

However, one of these objects is missing.

RESOLUTION

To work around this issue, use a build of Windows 2000 that has Service Pack 1 slipstreamed into it. For additional information, see the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/servicepacks/sp4/spdeploy.htm
Also, you can create a new Windows 2000 domain, and then move users and computer account to it from the existing Windows NT-based domain Using the Active Directory Migration Tool. I also would recommend to add this reference to the More Information section. Dcpromo Does Not Work If Administrator Account Is Deleted [ntrelease] ID: Q260941

STATUS

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

MORE INFORMATION

You cannot delete built-in objects by using the tools included with Windows NT. Third-party products, however, may provide this capability. If the security of built-in objects is a concern, you can rename or disable them; you should not delete them. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260941 Dcpromo does not work if Administrator account is deleted or the Domain Guests account is manually created