# Cannot connect to domain



## ics_rk (Mar 12, 2008)

Dear all,

Here is my problem: there are some computers (Win XP SP 2) connected to a domain controller. The problem is, sometimes the computer can't connect to the domain, said the domain is out of range etc. Then I try to remove the computer from the domain and re-join the domain and it's ok. My question is, what's wrong with it? Is there any circumstance that make the "client" can't get to the domain?

PS: I've pinged the server and it's ok, so it not the cable problem.


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## ComputerNerd (Mar 12, 2008)

I'm guessing that you have network connectivity prior to the join attempt. I have noticed a similar issue in the past that was resolved through DNS. when connecting to the domain, try to connect to the FQDN (fully qualified domain name.) This is the name that displays at the top of the Active Directory tree. Usually it is your domain name with .com at the end. 

Does basic network connectivity ever become interrupted? When one computer is having these problems, can other computers still access the Internet as well as other network resources?


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## ics_rk (Mar 12, 2008)

First of all, thanks for your response 

Er.. can you give a step-by-step guide since I'm a newbie 

And about the network connection, the network is ok, the other client can still join the domain, connect to the internet and interact with other clients.

I've my friend told me to add the server IP and host name in C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. Is it help to recognize the server and make sure such problem won't happen again in the future?

Thanks


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## ComputerNerd (Mar 12, 2008)

Can you post the exact errors that you receive?


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## ics_rk (Mar 12, 2008)

Er.. I didn't remember the exact error, but the error is something like this:
"You can not log on to domain MULTIMEDIA as the domain is not available"

MULTIMEDIA is the domain. But after the error, I log on to the computer using local password and then remove from domain and rejoin the domain and the problem didn't occur - temporarily, since sometimes this happen again in the future..


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## TheEmperor (Feb 7, 2008)

On the client that is having trouble go to Start, Run, type CMD, press enter, type IPCONFIG /ALLand paste the results in here for me to check. Also, what is the internal IP of your Domain controller?


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## ics_rk (Mar 12, 2008)

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : AMS66
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-14-85-CB-CA-CD
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.50.66
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.50.68
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 202.148.11.48
202.148.7.49

Internal IP for domain controller: 192.168.50.68


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## TheEmperor (Feb 7, 2008)

Ok, What handles internal DNS for your domain? You should have the ip of an internal DNS server as the first DNS server. As a shortcut you can add the ip of the domain controller to the hosts file on the problem machine to verify that the issue is indeed a DNS issue. If adding the host file entry fixes it then the issue is definitely a DNS issue.


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## ics_rk (Mar 12, 2008)

The DNS is the DNS from our ISP. As for the hosts file, do you means the file located in %Win%\System32\drivers\etc? I've added the IP of the server to the problem server and still wait for any error (hope it's solved)..

I'll inform more if there's another error  Thanks for your assistance..


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