problem with client machine and small business server

Posted by cyberfish

on 3 Sep 2008 1:04 PM

I am having an issue with small business server and a client machine. I cannot seem to access the client machine and the server will not recognize it. When I disconnect the machine from the network and try to login it doesnt let me. I keep getting an error "windows cannot connect to the domain...". I've read several articles about it and they all mention unjoining the client machine etc. But for some reason I cannot gain access to it. I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with local access on the client machine. Anyone have any ideas on this?

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Posted by glamontagne

on 3 Sep 2008 1:20 PM

It sounds like there was an issue with your client machine when you first installed it into the domain. Is your client Vista or XP? Has this client ever been able to log into the domain?

Gary Network/Systems Admin Berlin, NH
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Posted by Quynh

on 3 Sep 2008 2:28 PM

You are using a public DNS server which doesnt know about your domain.

Vista machines require domain + subfix to communicate.

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Posted by cyberfish

on 3 Sep 2008 6:45 PM

The client machines are all xp sp2. i inherited this network from the previous admin. according to the people who work at this place, the client machine in question did work at one point. In AD I ran the "set up client machine" wizard but the OS doesnt appear in the OS column. I was beginning to think that the local installation of xp was bad, but i noticed when shutting it down that it could accept and install updates. Whether it is plugged into the network or not, I cannot access the client machine locally or remotely. Thank you in advance.

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Posted by dwelp

on 3 Sep 2008 8:30 PM

I've had this before, I think what I ended up doing was setting up the work station to be in workgroup mode instead of on the domain, (Either logged in locally on the PC or used safe mode to change it to workgroup mode) and then delete the computer from AD on the server.

Then I was able to join the domain again and had it all work.

You may want to change the SID on the client computer (newsid is a down loadable program to create a new SID on a workstation) to see if that helps.

Dave

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Posted by glamontagne

on 4 Sep 2008 5:21 AM

Quynh, thanks for chiming in. Be careful when giving advice not to make assumptions on their OS. Dave's advice is spot-on with the added information from the user.

Gary Network/Systems Admin Berlin, NH
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Posted by shipley.c

on 4 Sep 2008 5:28 AM

I second Dave's advice!

Chris Shipley
Nutmeg Consulting

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Posted by cyberfish

on 4 Sep 2008 7:44 AM

Thank you everyone for your advice. It's been a while since I posted on any tech forum so I apologize for my own breeches of etiquette (not giving any details about my network configuration). I just got to the office so I will update everyone.

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Posted by glamontagne

on 4 Sep 2008 8:00 AM

Cyber, there is no need to apologize. You were quick to answer our questions about your setup. Hopefully your problem will be fixed with Dave's advice. Keep us posted and best of luck to you.

Gary Network/Systems Admin Berlin, NH
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Posted by cyberfish

on 4 Sep 2008 9:06 AM

I booted the client machine in safe mode and it still prompted me for a username and password which was not accepted. I am running under the assumption that the previous admin used the same admin username and login for the local machines as he did for the network. Without access to the local machine I am unable to make the changes you suggested. I keep getting the following message: "The system could not log you on. Make sure your User name and domain are correct, then type your password again. Letters in the passwords must be typed using the correct case."

Is there anything from the server side I can do to remedy this?

Thank you all again for your assistance.

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Posted by glamontagne

on 4 Sep 2008 10:17 AM

wow, you just haven't had any luck with this machine. I have a couple of suggestions. Try using the username of administrator, and leave the password field blank while logging into the local machine and not the domain. If that doesn't work, you could try another username that would have admin access to the machine on the local level. Other than that, you might want to check out this site for password recovery options. After you gain access, hopefully you'll be able to unjoin it from the domain and rejoin it.

Gary Network/Systems Admin Berlin, NH
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Posted by cyberfish

on 4 Sep 2008 10:48 AM

Gary, thanks. I will give that a try. I am not an experienced admin so you can imagine my frustration. I am unsure how to log into the local machine versus into the domain....

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Posted by glamontagne

on 4 Sep 2008 10:57 AM

At the login screen, underneath the password is a box that says: "Log on to." Just click on the down arrow, and the name of the computer should also be a choice, select that and try logging in with and without the password.

Gary Network/Systems Admin Berlin, NH
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Posted by dwelp

on 4 Sep 2008 11:00 AM

On your login screen do you have three fields with the third field being a drop down list.

The First field is user name the second is password and the third field is domain. When you hit the drop down you should see two choices the name of your domain and then another that usually has the word local in it.

Choose that for the domain and then administrator with your password or blank as Gary has suggested.

If the third field is not on the login screen, do you have the field on other computers? If the field is on the others, I'd wipe the hard drive and reload the machine, as some major tweaking has happened that I don't know is recoverable or worth the research effort.

Dave

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Posted by dwelp

on 4 Sep 2008 11:02 AM

OK Gary we're on the same page :smile;

Dave

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