What does Windows error code 8421 (ERROR_DS_CANT_FIND_NC_IN_CACHE) mean?

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: The expected naming context was not found in the directory service cache.

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ERROR_DS_CANT_FIND_EXPECTED_NC	ERROR_DS_CANT_RETRIEVE_CHILD

ERROR_DS_CANT_FIND_NC_IN_CACHE

ERROR_DS_CANT_FIND_NC_IN_CACHE (8421) is an Active Directory Domain Services error. The directory service did not find the required naming context in its local cache. This can follow topology changes, incomplete partition initialization, replication failures, or an operation sent to a DC that does not host the expected context.

What to check

Verify that the selected DC is the correct server for the naming context.
Check Directory Service events and replication status before restarting services or changing topology.
Confirm that a recent domain, application-partition, or global-catalog change completed across the relevant DCs.

Useful command

repadmin /showrepl * /csv

Microsoft: Diagnose AD replication failures · Microsoft: DCDiag · Microsoft: Directory Service system error codes

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