corrupt user account?!?!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mike Abrahamson
  • Start date Start date
M

Mike Abrahamson

(apologies for the cross-post but my messages aren't being posted for
several hours and this is an urgent issue)

I had a user borrow another user's laptop yesterday (Win XP Pro). He
connected it to his docking station and used the other person's domain
account to log onto the network (they apparently shared passwords). Today
the laptop's original user is back and using her system connected to her own
docking station. She logs into it using her domain account just fine. Here
's the strange thing - she cannot open her home folder or her exchange
mailbox - both errors say she doesn't have permissions. When I check the
active sessions on the server in that office (Win 2000 DC) it displays her
co-worker as the connected user from her IP even though she is logged in
with her domain account!

I have removed and re-added her computer to the domain twice, and even
forced a new IP address lease via DHCP. But still the DC shows the wrong
user for the session and gives her the wrong credentials even though she is
logged in with her own domain account. I cannot find anything related to
this problem in the KB or newsgroups. Can someone please help? I am at a
loss as to how to fix this problem (short of ripping the offender a new
one).

Thanks for any help!!!!
Mike Abrahamson
 
Doublecheck the permissions on her home folder, manually disconnect the session from
the server, and check to see if previous user mapped any drives, created Scheduled
Task, etc that would use his credentials. The part about sharing passwords does not
sound good. --- Steve
 
All of the ACLs for their folders are fine. The strange thing is when she
logs in with her account the server thinks his account is logged in and
gives her access to all his resources as if he logged in with his domain
account. The active session on the server displays his account name even
though she is logged in with her own account. It is the strangest thing I
have seen.

The sharing password issue will definitely be addressed, but I don't
understand why the server is mistaking her login for his account. I even
tried removing all trace of her computer from the domain, both the computer
account and all the DNS records I could find. I then re-added the computer
to the domain and gave it a new IP address in case there was some reference
to his account in the records for her computer. Nothing has fixed the
problem.

It seems as though by connecting her laptop to his docking station (thereby
forcing her laptop to use his usual IP address) the accounts became
corrupted somehow. I never thought a machine's IP address could have ANY
affect on user authentication, but I can't figure out what else would have
caused this problem. I saw in the DNS records that her laptop was given his
usual IP address (I had two records for the same IP with each of their
machine names). Is there any way to resolve this short of deleting her user
account and starting from scratch? If I have to do that, what's the
simplest way to give her new account access to all she needs (including her
exchange mailbox, home folder and other ACLs)?

Mike Abrahamson
 
Hi Mike. That is really bizarre. Try having her logon from another machine in the
domain to see what happens [or you log on as her possibly] to determine if it is a
user account or computer issue. If you have not done so, have her try to change her
domain password from her machine or you reset it for her if that does not work. Run
netdiag on that machine to see if it reports anything unusual as far as failed tests,
etc. --- Steve
 
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