Documentation Error in the Windows 2000 Server Help File (279730)

SYMPTOMS

In Windows 2000 Server, if you query the Help file for "Active Directory client," several topics appear. If you then select the "Troubleshooting," topic, you see the following information:

Clients without Active Directory client software installed cannot log on.
Cause: The primary domain controller emulator is not available. This may be caused by a network connectivity problem. It may also be due to a failure of the computer holding the primary domain controller emulator role.
Solution: Resolve the network connectivity problem. Or, repair or replace the computer holding the primary domain controller emulator role. It may be necessary to seize the primary domain controller emulator role.
See also: Diagnose connections; Single master operations; Responding tooperations master failures; Transfer the PDC emulator role; Seize the PDC emulator role."

MORE INFORMATION

The statement that the clients cannot log on is incorrect. You can still be authenticated with NTLM by any domain controller; it does not necessarily have to be the Primary Domain Controller (PDC) Flexible Single Master Operation (FSMO).

The following scenario is an exception to the rule: If you have an expired password, and you have a computer that is running Microsoft Windows NT 4.x, Microsoft Windows 95, or Microsoft Windows 98, and you do not have the Active Directory client installed, you will not be able to log on.

Furthermore, if a downlevel client is not running the Directory Services client, the PDC FSMO must be available for password changes, otherwise errors will occur when you attempt to change passwords. This is the same behavior that occurs in a Windows NT 4.0 domain. If the downlevel client is running the Active Directory client, a password change can occur at any domain controller.

REFERENCES

For additional information on the Directory Services Client, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

249841 How the Active Directory Client Extension uses Active Directory site information in Windows 98