For itemmall: MSDTC service On
And sometimes also need RPC OUT enabled in MSSQL
Code:
EXEC master.dbo.sp_serveroption [MENTION=485444]server[/MENTION]=N'MYSERVER', [MENTION=1489981]opt[/MENTION]name=N'rpc out', [MENTION=1489981]opt[/MENTION]value=N'true'
GO
But in both cases, if you don't have them, you'll get error msgs in your logs
Now for your DC issue, be sure to be using the correct DB for the server files you have, and also be sure to have all the SQL PROCs your server need.