Netdiag [FATAL] Could not open file C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\netlogon.dns for reading.

Submitted by justin on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 11:46

When you run the netdiag command on a Windows Server 2003 server, you may encounter the following errors:

    [FATAL] Could not open file C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\netlogon.dns for reading.
    [FATAL] Could not open file C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\netlogon.dns for reading.
    [FATAL] No DNS servers have the DNS records for this DC registered.
 

This is because the 32-bit version of netdiag, while supported by Microsoft, isn't able to locate the DNS file in a 64-bit installation.  To fix this issue, copy netdiag.exe from the Windows Server 2003 64-bit installation CD (SUPPORT\TOOLS\Support.cab) to C:\Program Files (x86)\Support Tools.

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Excellent Solution

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 12/16/2011 - 15:32.

I've been trying to figure out why one DC had good results from the NETDIAG and the other was returning fatal errors. Replacing the netdiag.exe file on the DC that was returning failed results resolved the problem. I ran netdiag and got the same results on both DC's.