How can I move the Active Directory log files?

John Savill

March 5, 2001

1 Min Read
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A. Along with the ntds.dit file, the Active Directory (AD) keeps several log files that you might want to move to a faster disk. To do so, perform the following steps:

  1. Restart the domain controller (DC).

  2. Press F8 at the Startup menu when the system displays the list of OSs.

  3. Select Directory Services Restore Mode.

  4. Select the appropriate installation, if more than one exists, and then log on as an administrator at the logon prompt.

  5. Start a command prompt (Start, Run, cmd.exe).

  6. Start the NTDS utility, ntdsutil.exe.

  7. At the ntdsutil prompt, type "files" as shown below:

    ntdsutil: files
  8. At the file maintenance prompt, type the following:

    file maintenance: move logs to [new location for file]
  9. To view the log files, at the file maintenance prompt, type "info":

    file maintenance: info 
  10. Type "quit" (without the quotation marks) twice to return to a C prompt.

  11. Restart the computer in Normal mode.

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