Microsoft warns that Windows Server 2025 domain controllers may become inaccessible after a restart. Affected servers load the default firewall profile instead of the domain firewall profile, interrupting applications and services. A temporary solution is available for IT administrators, but a permanent solution will follow later.
The problem is particularly worrying for organizations that rely heavily on their Active Directory infrastructure. Domain controllers play a critical role in verifying users and managing network resources within a corporate environment.
Temporary solution available
Microsoft has published a temporary solution to remedy the problem. System administrators can manually restart the network adapter on affected servers using various methods, including executing the PowerShell command: Restart-NetAdapter *.
An important point of attention is that this workaround must be reapplied after every restart of the domain controller. The problem reoccurs every time the server is restarted.
To automate this process, Microsoft recommends creating a scheduled task that automatically restarts the network adapter every time the domain controller is restarted. This prevents manual intervention with every reboot.
Windows Server 2025 was launched earlier this year as a major update with several new features, including patching without rebooting for security updates and improved SSD support. According to Microsoft, the update is the biggest since 2022 and also includes several security improvements, such as encrypted LDAP communication by default.
Not the first problems
This is not the first problem to affect Windows Server 2025 since its release. Previous problems include freezing Remote Desktop sessions after installing security updates. In addition, in October 2024 there was an upgrade debacle in which Windows Server 2022 systems were undesirably upgraded to Windows Server 2025.
According to Microsoft, the developers are working on a permanent solution to the current domain controller problem, which will be rolled out in a future update. Until then, system administrators will have to rely on the temporary workaround.
Also read: Windows Server 2025 updates cause problems