What could cause someone to lose the ability to specify what they wanted to log on to (i.e. domain vs. local machine) in Windows 2000 Professional?
Someone called me for tech support with this problem:
They normally log on to a single domain at work. The "log on to" option used to allow them to chose that domain or their local machine. They admittedly tried to adjust their network settings to allow them to log on to their network at school (exact details of what was changed are not remembered.) Since then, their system has become completely immobalized, and they cannot get past the Windows 2000 login. Supposedly, they no longer have a "log on to" option, and they cannot specify the domain or local machine for login. Therefore, they cannot log on to the network, and they cannot log on to the local machine as administrator or otherwise, since the "log on to" cannot be specified.
Has anyone seen this before? Am I missing something simple?
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To clarify the question, ...
The user normally logs on to a corporate LAN domain. They have switched themselves to workgroup mode, specifying a made-up workgroup name (i.e. "test") in the network properties. Since re-booting, they cannot gain access to the machine, because the "log on to" option has disappeared. Every time they enter their correct user name and password, they get the following message:
"The system could not log you on. Make sure your User name and domain name are correct, then type your password again. Letters in passwords must be typed using the correct case. Make sure that Caps lock is not accidentally on."
The only fields available are "User name" and "Password." Therefore, they cannot specify to log on to the correct domain or even the local machine, for that matter. The password is correct; Caps is not on, etc...
If they could obtain the administrator password, would they be able to gain access to the machine, or would they still encounter the same problem because they still would not have the "log on to" option. Can the administrator somehow override the workgroup mode at the login prompt?
Please help!
P.S. This is Win 2000 professional with NTFS file system. The computer is a laptop (IBM Thinkpad T20.) It has 1 CDROM, no floppy, integrated ethernet card and dial-up modem.
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Answer for Membership
by: frankaPosted on 2000-11-11 at 10:44:34ID: 5262107
the pc will be no longer a member of a domain.
It seems the pc is in workgroup mode now and therefore has no "log on to" anymore.
you have to logon with local credentials and then join the domain again, then reboot and the "log on to" line is there again.