Using the BurFlags registry key to

reinitialize File Replication Service

Summary

This article discusses the

FRS BurFlags registry key that the Microsoft Windows File Replication service (FRS) uses.

Overview

FRS is a multi-threaded, multi-master replication engine that Windows Server domain

controllers use to replicate system policies and logon scripts. You can also use FRS to
replicate content between Windows Servers that host the same fault-tolerant Distributed
File System (DFS) roots or child node replicas. In Windows Server 2008 R2 and newer, FRS
can only be used to replciate the Domain SYSVOL replica set.

When you deploy Windows-based domain controllers or member servers that use FRS to
replicate files in SYSVOL or DFS shares, you may have to restore or reinitialize individual
members of a replica set if replication has stopped or is inconsistent. In some scenarios, you
may have to rebuild the whole replica set from scratch.

The
FRS BurFlags registry key is used to perform authoritative or nonauthoritative restores on
FRS members of DFS or SYSVOL replica sets.

Note System state backups of Windows member servers and domain controllers do not
include the FRS database that maintains a mapping of files that are held in local FRS trees
and a master list of FRS files.
For more information about exclusions for Ntbackup.exe, click the following article number
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
233427 Files and folders that are not backed up when the Ntbackup.exe tool is used in
Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000

Restoring FRS replicas

The global BurFlags registry key contains REG_DWORD values, and is located in the
following location in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NtFrs\Parameters\Backu
p/Restore\Process at Startup
The most common values for the
BurFlags registry key are:

 D2, also known as a nonauthoritative mode restore

 D4, also known as an authoritative mode restore
You can also perform BurFlags restores at the same time as you restore data from backup
or from any other known good source, and then restart the service.

Nonauthoritative restore

Nonauthoritative restores are the most common way to reinitialize individual members of
FRS replica sets that are having difficulty. These difficulties may include:

 Assertions in the FRS service

 Corruption of the local jet database
 Journal wrap errors
 FRS replication failures
Attempt nonauthoritative restores only after you discover FRS dependencies and you
understand and resolve the root cause. For more information about how to discover FRS
dependencies, see the "Considerations before configuring authoritative or nonauthoritative
restores of FRS members" section later in this article.

Members who are nonauthoritatively restored must have inbound connections from
operational upstream partners where you are performing Active Directory and FRS
replication. In a large replica set that has at least one known good replica member, you can
recover all the remaining replica members by using a nonauthoritative mode restore if you
reinitialize the computers in direct replication partner order.

If you determine that you must complete a nonauthoritative restore to return a member
back into service, save as much state from that member and from the direct replication
partner in the direction that replication is not working. This permits you to review the
problem later. You can obtain state information from the FRS and System logs in the Event
Viewer.

Note You can configure the FRS logs to record detailed debugging entries.
For more information about how to configure FRS logging, click the following article
number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
221111 Description of FRS entries in the registry

To perform a nonauthoritative restore, stop the FRS service, configure the BurFlags registry

key, and then restart the FRS service. To do so:

1. Click Start, and then click

Run.
2. In the Open box, type
cmd and then press ENTER.
3. In the Command box, type net stop ntfrs.
4. Click Start, and then click
Run.
5. In the Open box, type
regedit and then press ENTER.
6. Locate the following subkey in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NtFrs\Parameters\Ba
ckup/Restore\Process at Startup
7. In the right pane, double-click
BurFlags.
8. In the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, type
D2 and then click OK.
9. Quit Registry Editor, and then switch to the
Command box.
10. In the Command box, type net start ntfrs.
11. Quit the Command box.
When the FRS service restarts, the following actions occur:

 The value for BurFlags registry key returns to 0.

 Files in the reinitialized FRS folders are moved to a
Pre-existing folder.
 An event 13565 is logged to signal that a nonauthoritative restore is started.
 The FRS database is rebuilt.
  The member performs an initial join of the replica set from an upstream partner or
from the computer that is specified in the Replica Set Parent registry key if a parent has
been specified for SYSVOL replica sets.
 The reinitialized computer runs a full replication of the affected replica sets when the
relevant replication schedule begins.
 When the process is complete, an event 13516 is logged to signal that FRS is
operational. If the event is not logged, there is a problem with the FRS configuration.
Note: The placement of files in the
Pre-existing folder on reinitialized members is a safeguard in FRS designed to prevent
accidental data loss. Any files destined for the replica that exist only in the local
Pre-existing folder and did not replicate in after the initial replication may then be copied
to the appropriate folder. When outbound replication has occurred, delete files in the
Pre-existing folder to free up additional drive space.

Authoritative FRS restore

Use authoritative restores only as a final option, such as in the case of directory collisions.

For example, you may require an authoritative restore if you must recover an FRS replica set
where replication has completely stopped and requires a rebuild from scratch.

The following list of requirements must be met when before you perform an authoritative
FRS restore:

1. The FRS service must be disabled on all downstream partners (direct and transitive)
for the reinitialized replica sets before you restart the FRS service when the
authoritative restore has been configured to occur.
2. Events 13553 and 13516 have been logged in the FRS event log. These events
indicate that the membership to the replica set has been established on the computer
that is configured for the authoritative restore.
3. The computer that is configured for the authoritative restore is configured to be
authoritative for all the data that you want to replicate to replica set members. This is
not the case if you are performing a join on an empty directory.
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:
266679 Pre-staging the File Replication service replicated files on SYSVOL and
Distributed file system shares for optimal synchronization
 4. All other partners in the replica set must be reinitialized with a nonauthoritative
restore.
To complete an authoritative restore, stop the FRS service, configure the BurFlags registry
key, and then restart the FRS service. To do so:

1. Click Start, and then click

Run.
2. In the Open box, type
cmd and then press ENTER.
3. In the Command box, type net stop ntfrs.
4. Click Start, and then click
Run.
5. In the Open box, type
regedit and then press ENTER.
6. Locate the following subkey in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NtFrs\Parameters\Ba
ckup/Restore\Process at Startup
7. In the right pane, double click
BurFlags.
8. In the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, type
D4 and then click OK.
9. Quit Registry Editor, and then switch to the
Command box.
10. In the Command box, type net start ntfrs.
11. Quit the Command box.
When the FRS service is restarted, the following actions occur:

 The value for the BurFlags registry key is set back to 0.

 An event 13566 is logged to signal that an authoritative restore is started.
 Files in the reinitialized FRS replicated directories remain unchanged and become
authoritative on direct replication. Additionally, the files become indirect replication
partners through transitive replication.
 The FRS database is rebuilt based on current file inventory.
 When the process is complete, an event 13516 is logged to signal that FRS is
operational. If the event is not logged, there is a problem with the FRS configuration.
Global vs. replica set specific reinitialization

There are both global- and replica set-specific

BurFlags registry keys. Setting the global BurFlags registry key reinitializes all replica sets
that the member holds. Do this only when the computer holds only one replica set, or when
the replica sets that it holds are relatively small.

In contrast to configuring the global

BurFlags key, the replica set BurFlags key permits you to reinitializes discrete, individual
replica sets, allowing healthy replication sets to be left intact.

The global
BurFlags registry key is found in the following location in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NtFrs\Parameters\Backu
p / Restore\Process At Startup

This key can contain the same values as those that are discussed earlier in this article for
authoritative and nonauthoritative restores.

You can locate the replica set specific

BurFlags registry key by determining the GUID for the replica set that you want to
configure. To determine which GUID corresponds to which replica set and configure a
restore, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click

Run.
2. In the Open box, type
cmd and then press ENTER.
3. In the Command box, type net stop ntfrs.
4. Click Start, and then click
Run.
5. In the Open box, type
regedit and then press ENTER.
6. To determine the GUID that represents the replica set that you want to configure,
follow these steps:

1. Locate the following key in the registry:

 KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NtFrs\Parameters
\Replica Sets
2. Below the Replica Sets subkey, there are one or more subkeys that are
identified by a GUID. In the left pane, click the GUID, and then in the right pane
note the Data that is listed for the Replica Set Root value. This file system path
will indicate which replica set is represented by this GUID.
3. Repeat step 4 for each GUID that is listed below the
Replica Sets subkey until you locate the replica set that you want to configure.
Note the GUID.
7. Locate the following key in the registry:
KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NtFrs\Parameters\Cu
mulative Replica Sets
8. Below the Cumulative Replica Sets subkey, locate the GUID you noted in step 6c.
9. In the right pane, double clickBurFlags.
10. In the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, type
D2 to complete a nonauthoritative restore or type
D4 to complete an authoritative restore, and then click
OK.
11. Quit Registry Editor, and then switch to the
Command box.
12. In the Command box, type net start ntfrs.
13. Quit the Command box.

Considerations before you configure authoritative or nonauthoritative

restores of FRS members

If you configure an FRS member to complete an authoritative or nonauthoritative restore by

using the BurFlags registry subkey, you do not resolve the issues that initially caused the
replication problem. If you cannot determine the cause of the replication difficulties, the
members will typically revert back to the problematic situation as replication continues.

A detailed breakdown on FRS interdependencies is beyond the scope of this article, but
your troubleshooting should include the following actions:

 Verify that Active Directory replication is successful. Resolve Active Directory

replication issues before you perform additional FRS troubleshooting. Use
the Repadmin /showreps command to verify that Active Directory replication is
 occurring successfully. The Repadmin.exe tool is located in the Support\Tools folder on
the Windows 2000 CD-ROM.
 Verify that inbound and outbound Active Directory replication occurs between all
domain controllers that host SYSVOL replica sets and between all domain controllers
that host computer accounts for servers that participate in DFS replica sets.
 Verify that FRS member objects, subscriber objects and connection objects exist in
the Active Directory for all the computers that participate in FRS replication.
 Verify that inbound and outbound connection objects exist for all domain controllers
in the domain for SYSVOL replica sets.
 Verify that all the members of DFS replica sets have at least inbound connection
objects in a topology to avoid islands of replication.
 Review the FRS and SYSTEM event logs on direct replication partners that are having
difficulty.
 Review the FRS debug logs in the %SYSTEMROOT%\DEBUG\NTFRS_*.LOG between
the direct replication partners that are having replication problems.
For more information about how to troubleshoot, click the following article number to view
the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
249256 How to troubleshoot intra-site replication failures