Client no longer connects to printer on Server

[Paul Durdin]

I have a small network with a number Windows XP machines on an AD domain
controlled by a Windows 2k Server which has a shared printer attached. One
of the client machines also has a shared printer attached. I also have a few
servers. The network and both printers have been running fine for some time
(years?), but in the last couple of days my XP machine has stopped printing.
Opening the Printers and Faxes dialog both shared printers are shown as
'Unable to connect'. Any attempt to print results in an error. Removing one
of the printers and attempting to replace it results in the message 'Windows
cannot connect to the printer', although if I browse using the 'Find a
printer in the directory' option then both printers are listed, however
trying to connect results in the same error message.

I have Windows Firewall running, Symantec anti-virus and the MS AntiSpyware
tools running, but I have tried to disable them - but no change. These were
installed recently - but I thought that I had installed them before the
printing problem began.

The machine was built from scratch a few weeks back and is fully patched
with all the latest updates. As I said before is has worked fine up until a
couple of days back.

I note also that I cannot browse the domain from the 'Microsoft Windows
Network' - I get 'domain is not accessible. You might not have
permission...' - although I am a domain admin!

I (and everyone else) can print ok from any other machine - so it must be a
setting on my client only that is the problem. The only other thing that
might be related is that when I test the dns server with dcdiag I get the
following message;


DC Diagnosis

Performing initial setup:
Done gathering initial info.

Doing initial non skippeable tests

Testing server: mydomain\myserver
Starting test: Connectivity
myserver's server GUID DNS name could not be resolved to an
IP address. Check the DNS server, DHCP, server name, etc
Although the Guid DNS name

(xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx._msdcs.mydomain.net) couldn't
be

resolved, the server name (myserver.mydomain.net) resolved to the
IP

address (x.x.x.x) and was pingable. Check that the IP address is

registered correctly with the DNS server.
......................... myserver failed test Connectivity

Doing primary tests

Testing server: mydomain\myserver
Skipping all tests, because server myserver is
not responding to directory service requests

Running enterprise tests on : mydomain.net
Starting test: Intersite
......................... mydomain.net passed test Intersite
Starting test: FsmoCheck
......................... mydomain.net passed test FsmoCheck

Can anyone give me some advice here?

regards

paul

 

[Bruce Sanderson]

1. check the event log on the problematic client (XP) computer for entries
(e.g. relating to Userenv or Userinit) that indicate problems with the
domain or "trust"
2. check that the computer's account in the domain has not been disabled
3. make sure you can log on to the client computer using its local
Administrator account, then:
a. via System Properties, Computer Name change the computer from being
in the domain to being in a workgroup (any name - e.g. xxx) - restart
b. using AD Users and Computers (on the domain controller), Reset the
computer's account
c. via System Properties, Computer Name add the computer to the domain
again - restart

 

[Paul Durdin]

I have lots of messages like;

I dont know how to fix these messages, or indeed what they mean....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Master merge was started on c:\system volume information\catalog.wci because
more than 80000 documents have changed since the last master merge.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Master merge cannot be started on c:\system volume information\catalog.wci
due to error 3221225807.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I get lots of these messages....
I note that the port number increases one at a time - very wierd.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Windows Firewall has detected an application listening for incoming
traffic.

Name: -
Path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
Process identifier: 628
User account: SYSTEM
User domain: NT AUTHORITY
Service: Yes
RPC server: No
IP version: IPv4
IP protocol: UDP
Port number: 1301
Allowed: No
User notified: No

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This looks like the dns isnt working, but i have run tests on the dns and
they seem to be ok,
also other machines are not getting this message.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Security System could not establish a secured connection with the server
DNS/prisoner.iana.org. No authentication protocol was available.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I am loathe the remove the machine from the network, since last time i had
network problems, i couldnt get re-connected, and i couldnt get any workk
done at all until i had the problem fixed. Turned out last time that it was
as dns problem - which i fixed.

Note that the computers account is ok on the domain, and i can log on ok as
administrator.

regards

Paul