domain controller for the domain could not be located..

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Thread: domain controller for the domain could not be located..

  1. #1
    Hammerhead Shark
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    domain controller for the domain could not be located..

    there's an NT4 workstation here that needs to be added to the domain. the PDC and BDC are fully functional, and the workstation in question can ping any and every machine on the entire LAN. however, when i go to add it to the domain, it tells me that a domain controller for the domain could not be found.

    i've checked and double-checked all tcp/ip settings, nic settings, services, physical cabling.. not sure where to go next.

    any help?

    thanks

    your gp or your hp~

  2. #2
    Goldfish
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    DNS

    Do you have a DNS server on the network? Are the workstations set to register its name with the DNS server? On my windows 2000 domain at work, if I remove a machine from the domain, then try to readd it, I get an error msg about the creditials aready exist and can not join the domain. See if the machine or the machines name is registered with the DNS server. If so, delete the entry from the DNS and try to join again. Dont know if that will fix the problem, but that is what I had to do to get a machine back in the domain.

  3. #3
    Crash Test Dummy SkyDog's Avatar
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    Since you mentioned a PDC and BDC, I'd assume you're talking about a Windows NT 4.0 domain since Active Directory domains don't have "primary" and "backup" domain controllers. Could you confirm what OS and service pack your DC's are running? (And the SP of the NT4 workstation, too?)

    ~kev~ is probably barking up the right tree if we're talking about an Active Directory domain. Most of the times I've seen a similar error happen when the client is pointing to the wrong server for DNS, like to your router instead of Active Directory DNS server. But "pre-Active Directory" NT domains really don't rely on DNS at all for domain communications.

    Do you have a WINS server? Is the workstation on the same IP subnet as a domain controller? Do you have any errors in Event Viewer's application or system logs on the workstation? If there are errors or warnings, what are the event ID numbers?

  4. #4
    Hammerhead Shark
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    it's an NT4.0 domain.

    the DC's and the workstation in question are running NT4.0 SP6. the PDC is acting as a WINS server, and everything is on the same subnet. i'm not sure about errors in Event Viewer, i don't have access to the workstation right now.. but i'll check in the morning and let you know.

    your gp or your hp~

  5. #5
    Great White Shark Thermo's Avatar
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    When you ping the servers from the workstation, are you pinging them by name or address? Question being can the system resolve the DC name into an address.
    Last edited by Thermo; 06-21-2005 at 07:34 AM.
    "All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move."
    January 21, 2013 The End of an ERROR

  6. #6
    Goldfish
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    nope

    I have a windows 2000 domain set up with active dirctory, 26 users. Before I was hired, someone set up an accounting workgroup outside the domain. When I tried to move the 3 accounting machines to the domain, I got an error. It was a month ago so I do not remember the exact error, but it went something like "a device already exist with the same creditales" Took a little while to figure out what was going on, I had to delete the machine name out of the DNS server. After that I was able to add the machine into the domain. I had to do this several times to get the permissions right on the accounting software. Its worth a look isnt it? Another suggestion is to edit the host file so that the IP address of the PDC is resolved.

  7. #7
    Crash Test Dummy SkyDog's Avatar
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    Duplicate DNS entries won't cause a "domain controller cannot be located" error on a Windows NT domain. NT domains don't use DNS at all, so it shouldn't be an issue. Before Active Directory, all name resolution in a domain was resolved via WINS or broadcast. On a related note, if it was necessary to edit a hosts file in this case, it wouldn't be HOSTS but rather LMHOSTS, which is sort of the WINS version of a HOSTS file. (I wouldn't bother at this point, though.)

    A glance at event logs should really help narrow down the problem, but you could do a little WINS checking ahead of time. Look up the name of your domain in WINS. There should be a 1C record that identifies the address of the domain's PDC. You should also see a 1D record pointing to your PDC's address. The 1D record identifies the domain master browser. (I don't remember if NT's WINS utility appends an "h" to the record number. "1C" and "1Ch" would be the same thing.)

  8. #8
    Great White Shark
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    Has the workstation been added to the domain on the DC?

  9. #9
    Hammerhead Shark
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    there are no errors or warnings at all in Event Viewer, and WINS does show 1C and 1D records for the PDC.
    Last edited by asmox; 06-21-2005 at 12:24 PM.

    your gp or your hp~

  10. #10
    Crash Test Dummy SkyDog's Avatar
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    Check Computer Manager on one of the domain controllers to see if a computer account already exists for the workstation. If there isn't an existing computer account, you could try creating one in Computer Manager before trying to join from the workstation and see if that helps.

    It would be strange for someone to mess with your LMHOSTS file, but you might want to check it (if you have one) to make sure there are no entries in it that refer to your domain or DC's and might prevent the workstation from finding your domain controllers via WINS. By default, you wouldn't have an LMHOSTS file -- just the sample "LMHOSTS.SAM" in the %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC folder (usually C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC).

  11. #11
    Sushi
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    This response is way after the fact, but I had the same issue, and I fixed it by making sure NT4.0 wkstn was up to lastest service pack 6a, and it appears install the .net update cleared the problem.

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