I had to deal with a really neglected domain, and found that all the FSMO roles were on a domain controller that no longer functioned or existed. I had to get the roles on the working server. Using convental methods in the UI or the ntdsutil to transfer the roles succeeded. I had no choice, but to seize all the roles from the missing server. All of these tasks were completed on the domain controller I wanted the roles on as the domain\Administrator.

Check the current roles holders:

C:\>netdom query fsmo
Schema master MYOLDDC1.mydomain.local
Domain naming master MYOLDDC1.mydomain.local
PDC MYOLDDC1.mydomain.local
RID pool manager MYOLDDC1.mydomain.local
Infrastructure master MYOLDDC1.mydomain.local
The command completed successfully.

Enter the ntdsutil utility by entering ntdsutil:

C:\>ntdsutil

And then roles:

ntdsutil: roles

You see the options by entering a question mark at the β€œfsmo maintenance” prompt. Obviously, this where you also transfer the roles if possible (not so in my case):

fsmo maintenance: ?

? – Show this help information
Connections – Connect to a specific AD DC/LDS instance
Help – Show this help information
Quit – Return to the prior menu
Seize infrastructure master – Overwrite infrastructure role on connected server
Seize naming master – Overwrite Naming Master role on connected server
Seize PDC – Overwrite PDC role on connected server
Seize RID master – Overwrite RID role on connected server
Seize schema master – Overwrite schema role on connected server
Select operation target – Select sites, servers, domains, roles and
naming contexts
Transfer infrastructure master – Make connected server the infrastructure master
Transfer naming master – Make connected server the naming master
Transfer PDC – Make connected server the PDC
Transfer RID master – Make connected server the RID master
Transfer schema master – Make connected server the schema master

Seize the roles one at a time. Each takes a while to complete, but they do.:

fsmo maintenance: seize pdc
Attempting safe transfer of PDC FSMO before seizure.
ldap_modify_sW error 0x34(52 (Unavailable).
Ldap extended error message is 000020AF: SvcErr: DSID-03210617, problem 5002 (UNAVAILABLE), data 1722

Win32 error returned is 0x20af(The requested FSMO operation failed. The current FSMO holder could not be contacted.)
)
Depending on the error code this may indicate a connection,
ldap, or role transfer error.
Transfer of PDC FSMO failed, proceeding with seizure …
Server β€œmydc01” knows about 5 roles
Schema – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYOLDDC1,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
Naming Master – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYOLDDC1,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
PDC – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
RID – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYOLDDC1,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
Infrastructure – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYOLDDC1,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
fsmo maintenance:
fsmo maintenance: seize naming master
Attempting safe transfer of domain naming FSMO before seizure.
ldap_modify_sW error 0x34(52 (Unavailable).
Ldap extended error message is 000020AF: SvcErr: DSID-0321041F, problem 5002 (UNAVAILABLE), data 1722

Win32 error returned is 0x20af(The requested FSMO operation failed. The current FSMO holder could not be contacted.)
)
Depending on the error code this may indicate a connection,ldap, or role transfer error.
Transfer of domain naming FSMO failed, proceeding with seizure …
Server β€œmydc01” knows about 5 roles
Schema – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYOLDDC1,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
Naming Master – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
PDC – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
RID – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYOLDDC1,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
Infrastructure – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYOLDDC1,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
fsmo maintenance: seize rid master
Attempting safe transfer of RID FSMO before seizure.
ldap_modify_sW error 0x34(52 (Unavailable).
Ldap extended error message is 000020AF: SvcErr: DSID-03210F70, problem 5002 (UNAVAILABLE), data 1722

Win32 error returned is 0x20af(The requested FSMO operation failed. The current FSMO holder could not be contacted.)
)
Depending on the error code this may indicate a connection, ldap, or role transfer error.
Transfer of RID FSMO failed, proceeding with seizure …
Searching for highest rid pool in domain
Server β€œmydc01” knows about 5 roles
Schema – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYOLDDC1,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
Naming Master – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
PDC – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
RID – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
Infrastructure – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYOLDDC1,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
fsmo maintenance: seize schema master
Attempting safe transfer of schema FSMO before seizure.
ldap_modify_sW error 0x34(52 (Unavailable).
Ldap extended error message is 000020AF: SvcErr: DSID-0321041F, problem 5002 (UNAVAILABLE), data 1722

Win32 error returned is 0x20af(The requested FSMO operation failed. The current FSMO holder could not be contacted.)
)
Depending on the error code this may indicate a connection, ldap, or role transfer error.
Transfer of schema FSMO failed, proceeding with seizure …
Server β€œmydc01” knows about 5 roles
Schema – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
Naming Master – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
PDC – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
RID – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
Infrastructure – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYOLDDC1,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
fsmo maintenance: seize infrastructure master
Attempting safe transfer of infrastructure FSMO before seizure.
ldap_modify_sW error 0x34(52 (Unavailable).
Ldap extended error message is 000020AF: SvcErr: DSID-0321041F, problem 5002 (UNAVAILABLE), data 1722

Win32 error returned is 0x20af(The requested FSMO operation failed. The current FSMO holder could not be contacted.)
)
Depending on the error code this may indicate a connection, ldap, or role transfer error.
Transfer of infrastructure FSMO failed, proceeding with seizure …
Server β€œmydc01” knows about 5 roles
Schema – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
Naming Master – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
PDC – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
RID – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
Infrastructure – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=MYDC01,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=mydomain,DC=local
fsmo maintenance:

Check to role locations to verify using netdom again:

C:\>netdom query fsmo
Schema master MYDC01.mydomain.local
Domain naming master MYDC01.mydomain.local
PDC MYDC01.mydomain.local
RID pool manager MYDC01.mydomain.local
Infrastructure master MYDC01.mydomain.local
The command completed successfully.