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By the way... don't think of non-authoritative as being worse... it's actually the default directory services restore mode. &nbsp;What it means is that data doesn't get overwritten -- whereas an Authoritative restore/sync will overwrite data even if that data is newer than what is being copied.
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I did end up demoting and repromoting the server but that didn't fix the problem. &nbsp;the ultimate solution was to perform an authoritive restore and manually sharing the sysvol folder (it didn't work until the sysvol was manually shared at which point netlogon automatically shared...within seconds) &nbsp;Very strange resolution but everything has been perfect on the domain since.
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My scenario is this, I started with a network of two 2008 servers acting as domain controllers. &nbsp;I added a 2012r2 server and then transferred the FSMO roles to it and set it as a global catalog server and then removed the two 2008 servers from being global catalog servers. &nbsp;I then demoted the first of the two servers. &nbsp;At this point I noticed the 2012r2 server did not have the sysvol and netlogon directory so I pointed DNS to it and had it assume FSMO roles. &nbsp;Active directory is working on my network again, but I still have the 2012r2 server that is not working properly. &nbsp;I have found articles about an authoritive and non-authoritive restore but I don't want to force this server into production if it isn't necessary. &nbsp;I would rather do it via normal processes. <br />
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My question is this, can I simply demote it and promote it again and see if it will work properly on a second attempt? <br />
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can anyone explain the risks of using an authoritive or non-authoritive restore?
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My scenario is this, I started with a network of two 2008 servers acting as domain controllers.  I added a 2012r2 server and then transferred the FSMO roles to it and set it as a global catalog server and then removed the two 2008 servers from being global catalog servers.  I then demoted the first of the two servers.  At this point I noticed the 2012r2 server did not have the sysvol and netlogon directory so I pointed DNS to it and had it assume FSMO roles.  Active directory is working on my network again, but I still have the 2012r2 server that is not working properly.  I have found articles about an authoritive and non-authoritive restore but I don't want to force this server into production if it isn't necessary.  I would rather do it via normal processes. 

My question is this, can I simply demote it and promote it again and see if it will work properly on a second attempt? 

can anyone explain the risks of using an authoritive or non-authoritive restore?

sysvol and netlogon missing but i still have old domain controller

Active Directory (AD) is a Microsoft brand for identity-related capabilities. In the on-premises world, Windows Server AD provides a set of identity capabilities and services, and is hugely popular (88% of Fortune 1000 and 95% of enterprises use AD). This topic includes all things Active Directory including DNS, Group Policy, DFS, troubleshooting, ADFS, and all other topics under the Microsoft AD and identity umbrella.

Active Directory

Windows Server 2012 is the server version of Windows 8 and the successor to Windows Server 2008 R2. Windows Server 2012 is the first version of Windows Server to have no support for Itanium-based computers since Windows NT 4.0. Windows Server 2012, now in its second release (Windows Server 2012 Release 2) includes Foundation, Essentials, Standard and Datacenter, and does not support IA-32 or IA-64 processors.

Windows Server 2012

Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, based on the Microsoft Vista codebase, is the last 32-bit server operating system released by Microsoft. It has a number of versions, including including Foundation, Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web, HPC Server, Itanium and Storage; new features included server core installation and Hyper-V.