Use initial DC discovery retry setting for background callers
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026
Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
Path in the GPO console
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Net Logon Description
This policy setting determines the amount of time (in seconds) to wait before the first retry for applications that perform periodic searches for domain controllers (DC) that are unable to find a DC. The default value for this setting is 10 minutes (10*60). The maximum value for this setting is 49 days (0x49*24*60*60=4233600). The minimum value for this setting is 0. This setting is relevant only to those callers of DsGetDcName that have specified the DS_BACKGROUND_ONLY flag. If the value of this setting is less than the value specified in the NegativeCachePeriod subkey, the value in the NegativeCachePeriod subkey is used. Warning: If the value for this setting is too large, a client will not attempt to find any DCs that were initially unavailable. If the value set in this setting is very small and the DC is not available, the traffic caused by periodic DC discoveries may be excessive.
Registry
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Netlogon\Parameters MDM / Intune (CSP)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_Netlogon/Netlogon_BackgroundRetryInitialPeriod Microsoft Learn documentation Mapping data: Microsoft Learn (CC BY 4.0)
Export Builder
BETAConfigure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.
These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO. ⓘ
.reg file
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Use initial DC discovery retry setting for background callers
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Netlogon\Parameters]
"BackgroundRetryInitialPeriod"=dword:00000258More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Use initial DC discovery retry setting for background callers
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Netlogon\Parameters'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'BackgroundRetryInitialPeriod' -Value 600 -Type DWordIntune XML
OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_Netlogon/Netlogon_BackgroundRetryInitialPeriod
Data type: String
Value:
<enabled/>
<data id="Netlogon_BackgroundRetryInitialPeriodLabel" value="600"/>Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Use initial DC discovery retry setting for background callers
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Netlogon\Parameters' -Name 'BackgroundRetryInitialPeriod' -Expected 600 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Use initial DC discovery retry setting for background callers
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Netlogon\Parameters'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'BackgroundRetryInitialPeriod' -Value 600 -Type DWordSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Use initial DC discovery retry setting for background callers
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
# SCCM Configuration Item guidance:
# Create a Configuration Item of type "Setting: Script".
# Discovery script: use the Detection script below.
# Remediation script: use the Remediation script below.
# Compliance rule: the Discovery script output equals 'Compliant'.
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Use initial DC discovery retry setting for background callers
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Netlogon\Parameters' -Name 'BackgroundRetryInitialPeriod' -Expected 600 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Use initial DC discovery retry setting for background callers
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Netlogon\Parameters'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'BackgroundRetryInitialPeriod' -Value 600 -Type DWordBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.