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ERROR_DS_NC_STILL_HAS_DSAS
Replica ownership must be removed before the NC is deleted
An Active Directory naming context is replicated to one or more DSAs. Removing a domain or partition while DCs still host its NC replicas would leave replication topology and server metadata referring to a partition that the forest claims no longer exists. AD therefore requires replica/DSA cleanup before completing the NC removal.
The key evidence is the set of domain controllers and NTDS Settings objects that still host the NC. A server that was forcibly demoted or permanently lost may still be represented in the configuration NC. Simply powering it off does not remove its directory metadata.
What to inspect
- Enumerate DC/DSA metadata for the NC and identify every server that still advertises or hosts a replica.
- For failed domain controllers, complete supported metadata cleanup so replication topology no longer references their NTDS Settings objects.
- Verify configuration-NC convergence before retrying partition deletion; another DC may still have the stale DSA list.
References
- MS-DRSR NC replica model
- MS-ADTS nTDSDSA definition
- Microsoft DC metadata cleanup
- Samba AD partition model
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