Domain Controller just Disappeared one one machine

  • Thread starter Thread starter Phil Trevorrow
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Phil Trevorrow

I'm running Windows 2003 standard edition server. I have DHCP and DNS
configured properly. I have other computers that connect to it with no
problem. Today for no apparent reason my laptop which is running XP Pro just
dropped the connection. It can't see the domain controller. I tried removing
it from the doamin and rejoining but that didn't work. If I manually
configure TCP/IP I can ping computers on the network but I still can't join
the domain. There are no error messages in event viewer either. Can anyone
help me out here?

Thanks!

Philip Trevorrow
Net Stryke
978-840-0865
www.netstryke.com
 
Phil Trevorrow said:
I'm running Windows 2003 standard edition server. I have DHCP and DNS
configured properly. I have other computers that connect to it with no
problem. Today for no apparent reason my laptop which is running XP Pro just
dropped the connection. It can't see the domain controller. I tried removing
it from the doamin and rejoining but that didn't work.
Click to expand...

So the AD didn't disappear but rather ONE MACHINE cannot connect?

Almost all such problems are NAME RESOLUTION issues; usually DNS.
If I manually
configure TCP/IP I can ping computers on the network but I still can't join
the domain. There are no error messages in event viewer either. Can anyone
help me out here?
Click to expand...

Ping how? By name or JUST by number?

If your DNS dynamic? Does both your DC and your client specify ONLY the
Dynamic DNS server (set) and NO OTHER (e.g., don't add the external ISP dns
to the clients or DC NIC)

IF you mess with the above, restart the DC "NetLogon" service.
 
Herb Martin said:
So the AD didn't disappear but rather ONE MACHINE cannot connect?
Click to expand...

Correct. One machine simply dropped off the network and I cannot reconnect
it.
Almost all such problems are NAME RESOLUTION issues; usually DNS.
Click to expand...

Why would all the other machines on the network resolve DNS correctly except
this one? And the kicker is it was on the network and was resolving DNS and
it's like one minute it just decides to stop resolving.
Ping how? By name or JUST by number?
Click to expand...

I can ping by IP address and Netbios but if I try to ping by name resolution
it fails. And I can only ping if I manually enter a valid IP address. If I
switch it back to DHCP it doesn't pick up anything. It reverts to the old
Microsoft assigned IP address of 169.254.45.85.
If your DNS dynamic? Does both your DC and your client specify ONLY the
Dynamic DNS server (set) and NO OTHER (e.g., don't add the external ISP dns
to the clients or DC NIC)
Click to expand...

Yes, DNS is dynamic. Both DC and client specify only the DC and no other.
Neither DC or client has an external DNS server listed.
IF you mess with the above, restart the DC "NetLogon" service.
Click to expand...

Did that to no avail. I've never seen this happen before. I could understand
if it affected the entire network but just one computer? I'm sure it is a
DNS issue and I think the problem is with the client but where?

Phil
 
In Phil Trevorrow <[email protected]> posted their thoughts, then I
offered mine
<snip>

When you look in Dev Mgr, is there an exclamation point next to the NIC
listed?

--
Regards,
Ace

Please direct all replies to the newsgroup so all can benefit.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2000, MCSE+I, MCSA, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Active Directory
 
Correct. One machine simply dropped off the network and I cannot reconnect
it.


Why would all the other machines on the network resolve DNS correctly except
this one? And the kicker is it was on the network and was resolving DNS and
it's like one minute it just decides to stop resolving.
Click to expand...

"Almost all" -- the exceptions are usually in such things as hardware,
NICs/Drivers,
and just plain messed up IP configure, but generally by the time someone
posts they
have covered most of that.

The main difference would be in THIS machine had either the WRONG or
MULTIPLE
(including an external) DNS servers defined on it's NIC(s).
I can ping by IP address and Netbios but if I try to ping by name resolution
it fails. And I can only ping if I manually enter a valid IP address.
Click to expand...

So this proves the NETWORK and IP are fine. It's a name resolution problem.
You even isolated it to DNS (rather than NetBIOS since that works.)
 
"Ace Fekay [MVP]"
In Phil Trevorrow <[email protected]> posted their thoughts, then I
offered mine
<snip>

When you look in Dev Mgr, is there an exclamation point next to the NIC
listed?
Click to expand...

No, it says the NIC is working correctly. Remember, if I manually enter an
IP address I can ping the server via IP or Netbios but DNS fails. Only on
this one computer.
 
Herb Martin said:
The main difference would be in THIS machine had either the WRONG or
MULTIPLE (including an external) DNS servers defined on it's NIC(s).
Click to expand...

It had neither the wrong DNS setting nor did it have multiple DNS settings.
It was getting DNS settings via DHCP. Every other computer on the network is
fine. The computer used to be connected to another domain called
infoclarus.com. When it dropped off the new domain (netstryke.com) it
reverted back to infoclarus.com. When I tried rejoining is when I started to
run into this problem. I have no idea why it just decided to revert back to
the infoclarus.com domain. It did it right in stride without even a re-boot.
It's the most bizarre thing I've ever seen a computer do.
So this proves the NETWORK and IP are fine. It's a name resolution problem.
You even isolated it to DNS (rather than NetBIOS since that works.)
Click to expand...

Yes, but DNS IS working for all 30 of my other computers. It's just not
working for THIS computer.
 
Almost all such problems are NAME RESOLUTION issues; usually DNS.

Until you solve your NAME RESOLUTION problem there is little point in worry
about the domain issues.

Can you ping by name?

Can you use NSLookup to resolve the name to IP explicitly?
 
In
Philip Trevorrow said:
It had neither the wrong DNS setting nor did it have multiple DNS
settings. It was getting DNS settings via DHCP. Every other computer
on the network is fine. The computer used to be connected to another
domain called infoclarus.com. When it dropped off the new domain
(netstryke.com) it reverted back to infoclarus.com. When I tried
rejoining is when I started to run into this problem. I have no idea
why it just decided to revert back to the infoclarus.com domain. It
did it right in stride without even a re-boot. It's the most bizarre
thing I've ever seen a computer do.


Yes, but DNS IS working for all 30 of my other computers. It's just
not working for THIS computer.
Click to expand...

Can you post an ipconfig /all from THIS computer and from one that is
working please?
Also, let us know what your actual AD DNS domain should be.

Thanks

--
Regards,
Ace

Please direct all replies to the newsgroup so all can benefit.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2000, MCSE+I, MCSA, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Active Directory
 
"Ace Fekay [MVP]"
Can you post an ipconfig /all from THIS computer and from one that is
working please?
Also, let us know what your actual AD DNS domain should be.
Click to expand...

Hi Ace. I can't provide the ipconfig from the problem computer because I
solved it. However, I'll give you a bit more information to see what you
would have come up with.

If I run ipconfig on the bad computer it would give me the standard IP
address that you get from a non-networked computer. It was 169.x.x.x with a
subnet of 255.255.0.0 and no gateway or DNS. When I ipconfig a working
computer I get 192.169.10.22. Subnet 255.255.255.0, Gateway 192.168.10.2,
DNS server 192.168.10.3, Primary DNS suffix: ns-internal.com, DNS suffix
search list: ns-internal.com, IP routing - no, Node type - Hybrid.

At home I run a 2000 server domain so I took the laptop home and tried to
join my home domain but it failed with the same message about no domain
controller available. Ipconfig returned the same results as above. If I
manually input the TCP/IP info I can ping computers on the network but it
won't resolve past my router and it still won't let me join the domain, just
like at work.
 
It's really better if you cut and paste the actual results from IPConfig.

We don't have to figure it out (we've done that one thousands of times)
and wonder if it was typed correctly; it also includes things you may
think irrelevant.
 
In
Philip Trevorrow said:
"Ace Fekay [MVP]"


Hi Ace. I can't provide the ipconfig from the problem computer
because I solved it. However, I'll give you a bit more information to
see what you would have come up with.

If I run ipconfig on the bad computer it would give me the standard IP
address that you get from a non-networked computer. It was 169.x.x.x
with a subnet of 255.255.0.0 and no gateway or DNS. When I ipconfig a
working computer I get 192.169.10.22. Subnet 255.255.255.0, Gateway
192.168.10.2, DNS server 192.168.10.3, Primary DNS suffix:
ns-internal.com, DNS suffix search list: ns-internal.com, IP routing
- no, Node type - Hybrid.

At home I run a 2000 server domain so I took the laptop home and
tried to join my home domain but it failed with the same message
about no domain controller available. Ipconfig returned the same
results as above. If I manually input the TCP/IP info I can ping
computers on the network but it won't resolve past my router and it
still won't let me join the domain, just like at work.
Click to expand...

Glad you figured it out Phillip. Not to insult anyone, but we're here to
help and not really be tested. A number of things can cause corruption in
the TCPIP stack that would cause this and lack of communication and
resolution...or just even a simple thing such as the DHCP Client service not
being turned on...

--
Regards,
Ace

Please direct all replies to the newsgroup so all can benefit.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2000, MCSE+I, MCSA, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Active Directory
 
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