cannot access domain controller c drive

Ok first here's my scenario

1 domain controller running win2k3 standard
2 clients using xp pro
linksys router handling dns

Now up until today i was the only client on the domain, yesterday i added the other client to the domain and left a 24 gig backup copying onto the server, then went home for the night.

As of yesterday i had access to all drives on the server through explorer and mstsc

This morning i come into work and i cannot access the server through the network explorer window. I have set myself and the other user as a domain admin.
I can log onto the server remotely through mstsc though so i know my login details are correct. When i try to go through the network explorer it prompts me for a username/pswd and it will not accept my credentials, the other clients or the administrators.

I've tried it on the server itself and it still asks for credentials when i navigate to the shared c drive through the network explorer, it still does not accept any credentials.

I can ping the server fine and have no problem locating shared printers connected to the win2k3 machine but i cannot access them (it asks for user/pswd yet again)

I've also tried setting the hard drives on the server as shares with full rights to all domain users and domain admins but still it refuses to accept me browsing to them.

anybody got any ideas on what i should be doing next

I am not a network person but i did set up the network and i am responsible for it. I may be a bit hazy on network terminology but i'll listen to any suggestions because at the moment i'm tearing out my hair in frustration. I'm fairly computer competent - programing/coding/hardware etc but networking is my achilles heel

thanks in advance for any help

neil

 

Have you set up your Windows 2003 as the prime DNS server on all clients and in the server's TCP/IP settings? You can get a lot of strange permissions problems if the server is not set as the primary DNS.

 

i think so. I went into network connections and set dns as the ip of the server on both clients and gave the server a static ip from the router.

Anyway thanks for the help but i've decided to demote it and leave it as a file server on the workgroup, something tells me that 2 clients doesn't justify a domain

Thanks again for all the help but you may as well close this thread now

 

One thing I would add: The best strategy when sharing files is to identify a location within the folder structure, to use as a shared file location(s). Then just share the folder at that location. Sharing the whole "C drive" is not good practice as it not only exposes the files you wish to share, but also key system files.

Also I would recommend that you set server IP addresses statically. Especially the core server. To get the best out of Server 2003, you should set the IP of the server statically, turn off DHCP at the router, and use the 2003 server's DHCP service as that can be coupled to DNS on the server. By tying DHCP and DNS together (as 2003 will allow you to do) you can more easily keep IP addresses and DNS names in step.

If switching back to workgroup and using the server as a very simple file server works for you then fine. However, I would suggest that persevering with 2003 and AD is worthwhile, as it can be a very good tool to help you manage your network as it grows.