Error when joining a domain "path not found"

I've given up now.....

Can anybody help.....

We have a 2000 server and a 2000 w/s. We needed to change the logon of the ws from a domain back to a workgroup. This worked fine. Having renamed the ws we then needed to connect it back to the original domain but now all we get is "the following occured attempting to join ..... The network path was not found "

When we attempt to join the domain we are invited to enter a user id and password so it is obviously seeing it but when we enter a valid logon the error message appears. Apart from the ws name nothing has changed. We can log onto the server as a workgroup ws without any problem...

Ip's have been checked, and netbeui added to both but still we get bthis message...

I'd appreciate any help....

Thanks

 

Make sure there are no computer accounts in active directory with the same computer name. If so, reset the computer account.
Then try to rejoin the domain again. The join process should prompt you for a domain administrator login. Type in the appropriate credentials, and it should state after a few minutes "Welcome to the domain ".

Also since Windows 2000 and above use DNS, make sure your DNS is properly configured on your client, and using the same DNS Server as your DC's.

 

I have exactly the same problem, on Server 2003. I have deleted all computer accounts from the server, but the same error message appears.
I have set DNS and WINS to point to the Windows server.

I know the (wireless) network is working, as I can share the server's dial-up internet connection.

Can anybody help - I have got frustrated trying everything!

NickR

 

Hi NickR and welcome. Weekends are often a little slow on the forum so delayed responses happen. I was fishing or watching olympics Saturday and Sunday.

Could you describe your network a little more. AD? D/C acting as DNS server? Any other tidbits that occur to you.

 

When I have run into this it was a firewall on the workstation. Just a thought.

 

Hi ssmith! I disabled the firewall on the client but with no effect.

Newt - network is:
This server (Dell 400SC) acting as DC, running Small Business Server (hence IIS, Exchange, Win2k3) and also as DHCP, DNS and WINS server and Gateway.
IP is 192.168.0.1, with all these services associated with that address.

Net connection is wired to a D-Link wireless access point, with clients connecting via wireless and sharing the dial-up (even though they're not members of the domain).

The domain just isn't recognised by the clients when I try to join them.
But they can see the internet via this connection and can ping 192.168.0.1 successfully. THey also seem to have IP addresses, even though they're using DHCP from the server they can't join!

 

So none of your client systems can join the domain?

Are you getting the same 'path not found' message as the original poster?

Have you checked the event logs on the server and a client PC right after a failure to see if there is further information available?

 

That's right - exactly the same message and no clients can join.

I did check the event log, and I can't recall the exact event at htis time (I'm at work). However it did lead me to believe that the DNS was wrong in Active Directory. But there are so many entries in Active Directory that mention DNS, I don't want to go there!

 

If DNS ain't right, you won't have lots of fun with AD.

As a quick test, something you can try that will be harmless and if it works, will certainly point to DNS issues

On one of your client PCs (NT4 and above) put an entry in the hosts file that points to the DC. Also give this PC a static IP address.

On the server, put an entry in your hosts file that points at a PC you want to join to the domain.

If that PC can join after the hosts file tweaks, then your automatic name resolution isn't set up right and will need to be fixed.

 

Take a trace with netmon and look for DNS queries failing, and problems authenticating.

 

Thanks guys.

I checked all this out and it appears to be something caled disjointed domain names, I found a Microsoft script to fix it and it now works.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Nick

 

Good news and thanks for posting back. Could you give a link to the place you found the problem and the fix?