Server for NIS Does Not Start After You Use Dcpromo.exe to Demote a Domain Controller (288237)

SYMPTOMS

After you run Dcpromo.exe on a Microsoft Windows 2000-based domain controller (DC), one or more of the following events may be logged in the event log, and the server for NIS and possibly the server for NFS services may not start or function correctly:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: nissvc
Event Category: None
Event ID: 8210
Description:
Unable to create the RPC service.
Event Type: Error
Event Source: nissvc
Event Category: None
Event ID: 8198
Description:
Server for NIS yppush service has stopped.
Event Type: Error
Event Source: nissvc
Event Category: None
Event ID: 8211
Description:
Server for NIS did not start. Error: The specified server cannot perform the requested operation. (0x3a)
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7000
Description:
The NfsRdr service failed to start due to the following error:
The system cannot find the file specified.

CAUSE

This issue can occur after a Windows 2000-based DC (with the Services for Unix version 2.0 Server for NIS) is demoted to a member server by using Dcpromo.exe. NIS support requires that Services for Unix (SFU) be installed on a DC.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use the SFU 2.0 MSI Wizard to remove Server for NIS before you demote the Windows 2000-based DC. If you have other SFU NIS DCs and you want to restore the computer as an SFU NIS server, promote the server back to a DC, and then reinstall SFU NIS to resolve the issue. Because the NIS data is stored in Active Directory, it will still be available from the other remaining DCs in your domain.