No domain controller

Tracker · 9 Nov 2007 at 10:47

I work for a company and issue laptops out for the business. Howver I have recently been getting an error when trying to add to the domain. where it is saying can not add to the domain controller. I can get an IP address and ping any server but only by IP not name. This means I cannot add any new laptops to the network.

Any answers?

sidethink · 9 Nov 2007 at 11:04

It means that name resolution is not working correctly for that PC (or our network).

Check that you are getting a DNS server along with your DHCP settings or that you are setting one manually.

You can't join an Active Directory domain without working DNS.

Tracker · 9 Nov 2007 at 11:34

I am getting a DNS ip I have some that connect and some don''t.

Sp00n · 9 Nov 2007 at 11:46

Checked the event viewer on the DNS server?

oddjob62 · 9 Nov 2007 at 12:01

Tracker said:
I am getting a DNS ip I have some that connect and some don''t.

So the primary DNS in TCP/IP settings is pointing to the DC?

randal · 9 Nov 2007 at 12:09

1) Check your DHCP server is handing out the DNS server correctly
2) Try and nslookup, then specify the DNS server manually.
3) Leave the IP part of the setup as DHCP then sent DNS manually
4) Add an entry in %SYSTEMROOt%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts for the domain controller

Tracker · 9 Nov 2007 at 13:39

tried all that mate nothing seems to be happening. Certain printers on the network have dissapeared as well having to rebuild them on the network to get them back on.

sidethink · 9 Nov 2007 at 14:15

You're not being too specific in relation to what you have tried.

Does Nslookup work - are you comfortable with how to use it?

If the DNS entry in your PCs IP stack is correct and you still can't resolve domain names then one of a few things is likely to be the cause:

Faulty DNS server
Faulty local IP stack or corrupt DNS cache
Lack of connectivity between your host and your DNS server

Could you perhaps provide the IP schema you are using?

What IP information does your DHCP server pass out to you?

IP address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DNS Server, WINS Server?

Sitting at your DNS server, what is the same information for that host?

randal · 9 Nov 2007 at 14:23

If you've got network printers disappearing, failed lookups and connects to the DC etc... I would probably start to suspect something is very wrong. It sounds knackered in short.

Have you got a backup DC or backups of the DC?