Unable to Add Workstation to Domain: 'A Domain Controller for Your Domain Could Not Be Contacted' (272124)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
This article was previously published under Q272124

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to add a workstation to a domain, you may not be able to do so, and you may receive the following error message:

A domain controller for your domain could not be contacted. You have been logged on using cached account information. Changes to your profile since you last logged on may not be available.

If caching is disabled, you may also receive this error message:

The system cannot log you on now because the domain (DOMAIN_NAME) is not available.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur when the primary domain controller (PDC) has not correctly registered the 1B (domain master browser) and 1C (domain controller) NetBIOS names in the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS), or when the 1B and 1C entries are not specified correctly in the LMHOSTS file.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, register the 1B and 1C NetBIOS names in WINS again by stopping and then restarting the Netlogon service on the PDC.

If your network does not use a WINS server and the domain controller is located on a remote network segment, on the workstation, use an LMHOSTS file with the correct 1B and 1C entries for the domain.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about NetBIOS names registered in WINS and about using an LMHOSTS file, refer to the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

180094 How to Write an LMHOSTS File for Domain Validation and Other Name Resolution Issues


163409 NetBIOS Suffixes (16th Character of the NetBIOS Name)


119495 List of Names Registered with WINS Service


137423 How to Reregister Services in WINS

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/11/2002
Keywords:kbprb KB272124
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.