How can I change the SYSVOL location?

A. SYSVOL is a crucial Active Directory (AD) component, and you might sometimes need to move SYSVOL to another location. One method for moving SYSVOL is to demote the domain controller (DC) to a regular member server, then rerun Dcpromo, promoting the server to a DC and specifying an alternate folder for the SYSVOL location. However, this procedure requires checking that the DNS configuration, the site, and so on have been removed cleanly, and results in the unavailability of the DC for a possibly significant amount of time.

Alternatively, you can set the path of SYSVOL via the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesNetlogonParametersSysVol registry subkey. However, there are other factors to consider, such as replication and staging. Microsoft has an “Active Directory Monitoring Guide” that lists many common AD scenarios, including moving SYSVOL