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Problems loging on after NT Name Change

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9 replies

by mike.brooks 1 view

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I was trying to change the name of an NT computer linked to a W2K Server (which is part of a WAN). This is what I thought I did: -

Logged on as local Admin / Changed account from member of DOMAIN to member of Workgroup.

Restarted computer.

Logged on again as local Admin. Changed computer name.

Restarted computer

Logged on again and joined Domain and created a computer account within the domain.

Got message: - Welcome to the Domain. So far this sounds good.

Restarted computer, tried to logon to domain and received the following message: -

System can not log you on to the domain because the systems computer account in its primary domain is missing or the password on that account is incorrect.

Well I confirmed the user id and password were correct (from another computer).

Can anyone tell me what the problem may be and the way around this.

I also have some event id's on the W2K server as follows: -

Event ID 12292: - There are two or more objects that have the same account name attribute in the SAM database. The Distinguished Name of the account is CN=UK-A-X004,CN=Computers,DC=siaworld. Please contact your system administrator to have all duplicate accounts deleted, but ensure that the original account remains. For computer accounts, the most recent account should be retained. In all the other cases, the older account should be kept.

Where should I be looking for this account information? At this moment in time I have possibly screwed up by deleting the old computer name from AD as well as the new computer name from the AD.

I am desperate for some quick advice, I would give this question more points but I am limited at the moment.

Kind Regards
Mike Brooks

9 replies

by estebandelatorre

If you cant log in with another user in THAT Pc, you should.
Do steps 1 to 4 (that you mention)
Then go to server manager and delete both pc accounts (the old one and the new one), then wait for a few minutes to get everything in sync, and the addcomputer to domain as you did.

by mike.brooks

I have tried this, but it did not work. When trying to rejoin the domain I do get the 'Welcome to the xxxx domain' message, but as soon as I try to log onto the domain it does not work. However, when I log onto the local computer I can see all the other computers in the domain (Network Neighbourhood), and can open up file shares. I believe there is a mismatch between the client SID and the registered SID on the domain controller which is checked in the SAM database at logon. However I do not know what to do to correct this situation, baring a re-install of NT? Even then what happens if I were to try to use the same computer account name - would it mess up again?

by the professor

I've seen this happen many times. The fast fix is to go to the Active Directory Users and Computers (dsa.msc) and remove both the old and new computer name.

Rejoin the computer to the domain and you'll be fine.

by mike.brooks

I have tried this, but it did not work. When trying to rejoin the domain I do get the 'Welcome to the xxxx domain' message, but as soon as I try to log onto the domain it does not work. However, when I log onto the local computer I can see all the other computers in the domain (Network Neighbourhood), and can open up file shares. I believe there is a mismatch between the client SID and the registered SID on the domain controller which is checked in the SAM database at logon. However I do not know what to do to correct this situation, baring a re-install of NT? Even then what happens if I were to try to use the same computer account name - would it mess up again?

by mark phelan

This dates back a bit to NT4 but,

i had the same problem frequently and often, the usual solution was as listed above,

1) Remove the computer from the domain
2) Remove the accounts from the domain
3) Wait an hour
4) Change the computername and add back to the domain.

Dont ask me why but step 3, the wait, was very important.

with NT4 It is something to do with waiting for the PDC and BDC(S) to syncronise proporly.

one thing I recall, is that although computer accounts etc arecreated onthe PDC, the login request isnt always dealt with by the PDC.

Not being too familiar with win2k server setups yet I cant realy coment on how that deals with this situation, but if I recall correctly, login requests are again not always dealt with by the same server. the same goes for computer accounts.

A full re-install may work, IF you removed the computernames from the domain first, that would be because between removing the accoutns, and creating new ones, you have the time of the re-install for the servers to syncronise.

Good luck

by mike.brooks

Mark,

I did everything as suggested above by yourself, I even got the 'Welcome to the xxxxx Domain' message - however the computer account never did appear in the Active Directory this time, and I had the same problems logging on.

Thanks for your suggestions though. Perhaps I will add a computer manually to the Active Directory?

by estebandelatorre

Hi, Mike
Yes, you are right, the problem is the SID, and the only way to fix it is:
From the wks: Change from domain to workgroup
From the domain: Remove pc account from server manager. (both should be done!)
Also, double check that your replication scheme is working fine (win2k authentication)
If you are logging int a NT 4 domain, submit the domain for a full sincronization and watch in the event log for any errors.

by mike.brooks

I have tried everything, but still problems logging on, however I have now got the computer showing in the AD.

I think I will have to rebuild this computer from scratch so that the SID changes.

Thanks anyway.

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