I need a better utility than ADSIedit to deep-search my Active Directory

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From: Spin (spin_at_spin.com)
Date: 09/12/04 

Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2004 12:40:52 -0400

Gurus,

I need a better utility than ADSIedit to deep-search my Active Directory.
I'm trying to remove an old domain name reference from Active Directory. I
renamed my Active Directory two weeks ago successfully, but references to
the old domain name are still appearing in my netlogon.dns file. This is
the only remaining problem I am facing on this server which used to be a
dual-homed DC running RRAS but now is only a single-homed DC and is no
longer running RRAS.

I have torn-down and rebuilt my AD DNS zones several times in conjunction
with stopping NETLOGON service and even going so far as deleting the
netlogon.dns and netlogon.dnb file several times. With every re-build of
the AD-integrated DNS, I can successfully see the _SRV records for the
proper domain name. I even built a standard-primary only DNS, then later
converted it to AD-integrated, but to no avail. This annoying old domain
name stubbornly refuses to remove itself from the netlogon.dns file.

I have deeply search my DNS, Active Directory Users and Computers, Active
Directory Sites and Services, used NTDSUTIL, going through Active Directory
metadata cleanup procedure, and used ADSIedit to find references to this old
domain name but could not see it anywhere, I only see the new domain name,
as expected. Even deleted all references to the old domain name in the
registry. Rebooted several times. When I run netdiag /fix and dcdiag /fix,
and examine the entries in netlogon.dns, I still see references to this old
domain name. And, it appears in the system event log in the form of a 5781
error.

This single-homed DC/DNS server points only to itself for it's DNS server.
Only in the Forwarders tab is there a reference to a DNS server outside my
network. The domain name suffix is correct everywhere you look on the
computer, such as the computer name tab of the System applet in Control
Panel and under the TCP/IP properties of the NIC. There is no GPO setting
defined anywhere specifying the old domain name. I am banging my head
against the wall. So I ask, is there a better utility than ADSIedit to
deep-search my Active Directory? When I use ADSIedit I cannot find any
reference to the old domain name. It's built-in search tool isn't very
intuitive. I need a good utility to find this annoying reference and remove
it once and for all. 

--
Regards,
Spin

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