I'm looking for a way to configure Windows Server 2003 R2 to permit Remote Desktop logins using cached domain credentials, for times when the domain controller is not available-- in my case because the server I'm trying to Remote Desktop into requires an intermittently-connected RAS connection to connect to the domain. I can log into the server locally using cached credentials, so I want to do the same thing using Remote Desktop too.
Here's more info:
I have a PC in my home running Windows 2003 Server SP2 (it's NOT a domain controller). This "Home Server" is joined to my office's domain, so that I can log into it with my domain credentials. I periodically connect that server to the office using RAS, but most of the time it's disconnected because my work RAS has a 12-hour timeout. Even when I'm not connected to the office via RAS, I can still log into the PC locally using my domain credentials, which are cached on the Home Server from the last time I logged in over RAS on that server's console. So far so good.
The problem is that I can't log in via Remote Desktop using the same cached credentials, for example if I'm working on my laptop in a different part of the building & need to do something on the server. Remote Desktop login to the home server works OK only if the Home Server is connected via RAS to the Office domain network, but if RAS is disconnected I can't log into the Server over Remote Desktop.
Can Windows be configured to allow remote desktop connections to use the same cached domain credentials which allow local logins even if the DC is unavailable?
The error I get in the Remote Desktop client is this:
The system cannot log you on due to the following error:
The specified domain either does not exist or cannot be contacted
On the server's event log, I get two errors: one in the Application Log and one in the System Log. Below are the contents of those events (I removed domain & acocunt names for privacy)
- #1: NETLOGON event ID = 5719 in the System Log:
This computer was not able to set up a secure session with a domain controller in domain [DOMAIN] due to the following:
There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request.
This may lead to authentication problems. Make sure that this computer is connected to the network. If the problem persists, please contact your domain administrator.
- #2: NETLOGON event ID = 1219 in the Application Log:
Logon rejected for [DOMAIN\ACCOUNT]. Unable to obtain Terminal Server User Configuration. Error: The specified domain either does not exist or could not be contacted.
Any ideas?
