Removing AD DS

AD DS is removed from a domain controller using the same command that is used to install it—Dcpromo.exe. When you run this command on a computer that is already a domain controller, the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard notifies you that it will uninstall AD DS if you choose to proceed. This section will discuss the removal of AD DS from both the last domain controller and an additional domain controller in a Windows Server 2008 domain.

When you remove AD DS on a domain controller, the directory database is deleted, all of the services required for AD DS are stopped and removed, the local SAM database is created, and the computer is demoted to a member server. More specifically, what happens will depend on whether the domain controller is an additional domain controller or the last domain controller in the domain or forest.