mahough said:
I am setting up new Windows XP Pro pcs to login to my Win
2K server domain. I successfully get the
messagem "Welcome to the domain" but cannot get logged
in. I get the message, "Windows could not log you into
the domain because the domain controller could not be
found, etc." My computer accounts are being created on the
server and everything seems right. I can log into the
machine locally and ping the server, get to the internet,
and even browse my server folders and log in from
Explorer. But, I cannot log in at the login prompt.
Please help!!!. mahough
An inability to find the domain controller usually indicates a DNS problem.
XP differs from previous versions of windows in that it uses
DNS as it's primary name resolution method for finding domain
controllers:
How Domain Controllers Are Located in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314861
If DNS is misconfigured, XP will spend a lot of time waiting for it to
timeout before it tries using legacy NT4 sytle NetBIOS.
( Which may or may not work. )
1) Ensure that the XP clients are all configured to point to the local
DNS server which hosts the AD domain. That will probably be the
win2k server itself.
They should NOT be pointing an an ISP's DNS server.
An 'ipconfig /all' on the XP box should reveal ONLY the domain's
DNS server.
( you should use the DHCP server to push out the local DNS server
address. )
2) Ensure DNS server on win2k is configured to permit dynamic updates.
3) Ensure the win2k server points to itself as a DNS server.
4) For external ( internet ) name resolution, specify your ISP's DNS server
not on the clients, but in the 'forwarders' tab of the local win2k DNS
server.
On the DNS server, if you cannot access the 'Forwarders' and 'Root Hints'
tabs because they are greyed out, that is because there is a root zone (".")
present on the DNS server. You MUST delete this root zone to permit the
server to forward unresolved queries to yout ISP or the root servers:
HOWTO: Remove the Root Zone (Dot Zone)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=298148
The following articles may assist you in setting up DNS correctly:
Setting Up the Domain Name System for Active Directory
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;237675
HOW TO: Configure DNS for Internet Access in Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;300202