asked on

No domain controllers could be contacted, Cannot join new client machines to domain after transitioning to server 2008 R2 DC.

I recently installed a new server 2008 domain controller, transfered all fmso roles and demoted the old server 2003 box. The issue I am now having is that I can no longer join client machines to the domain.

Server Settings:
Active Directory Domain Controller
DHCP
DNS
IP Settings

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : HP NC326i PCIe Dual Port Gigabit Server Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 3C-4A-92-E6-01-E4
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.3(Preferred) 
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.3
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

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Client Machine IP Settings:

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : Western
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 1C-6F-65-D7-1D-9D
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.231(Preferred) 
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, May 09, 2011 8:18:44 PM
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, May 17, 2011 8:18:44 PM
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.3
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.3
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

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Here is the error I am receiving when trying to join a client machine to the domain.

The domain name "WESTERN" might be a NetBIOS domain name.  If this is the case, verify that the domain name is properly registered with WINS.

If you are certain that the name is not a NetBIOS domain name, then the following information can help you troubleshoot your DNS configuration.

DNS was successfully queried for the service location (SRV) resource record used to locate a domain controller for domain "WESTERN":

The query was for the SRV record for _ldap._tcp.dc._msdcs.WESTERN

The following domain controllers were identified by the query:
dc1.western


However no domain controllers could be contacted.

Common causes of this error include:

- Host (A) or (AAAA) records that map the names of the domain controllers to their IP addresses are missing or contain incorrect addresses.

- Domain controllers registered in DNS are not connected to the network or are not running.

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kevinhsieh

What is the DNS name of the domain? The client has a DNS domain name of western, which is not the proper format for a domain. It should be something like western.local. Try joining to the full DNS style name of the domain.

patdeg

ASKER

Unfortunetly the previous tech didn't name it properly. It is simply called western.

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Awinish

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kevinhsieh

I would look at changing the domain to a fully qualified domain. How many servers and workstations? What kind of services do you have?

Leon Fester

Before doing too much investigations/troubleshooting.
Try enabling the Netbios over TCP/IP option on the Servers' NIC.
It's found under the TCP/IP properties,
Click Advanced button,
Click WINS tab
Enable Setting.

Just reboot the server to be safe and try again.

patdeg

ASKER

Edited the registry on the client machine as per the links provided and it worked like a charm. I would however like to be able to join the computers to the domain without having to edit the registry on each one.

The network is fairly small. One domain controller and approx 12 workstations. The DC is running DHCP, DNS and Print Services. It's also the location of the Accounting data.

kevinhsieh

That is certianly small enough where doing a domain rename would be very doable.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc738208(WS.10).aspx