Windows 7 workstation unable to rejoin domain after switching to workgroup
Over the weekend we were going to migrate to a new domain controller (both the old and the new are Server 2008 r2). We had completely replicated all of the settings from the old server onto the new server and everything seemed to be setup and ready to go. When we tried to log the first Windows 7 workstation into the new domain we were getting the message "The trust relationship between this workstation and the primary domain has failed." From what we read about this, the way to fix it is to logon to the workstation with the local administrator account and then disconnect from the domain by switching to a Workgroup, then reboot and try and rejoin.
We followed all of the steps; we switched to a workgroup and then rebooted and logged back in as the local adminstrator. We then tried using the Network ID wizard to rejoin the domain but we kept getting the same error saying "The network path was not found."
We struggled with this for some time but eventually had to give up and put our old server back into production. As soon as we connected the old server all of our other workstations were able to connect to the old domain perfectly fine except the one Windows 7 workstation that we had switched to Workgroup when we were trying to connect to the new domain controller.
Now no matter what I try on this workstation I cannot reconnect it back to the old domain. Every time it comes back saying "The network path was not found." We even tried deleting the Computer account on the server hoping that would allow it to rejoin but no dice.
If I go into C:\Users I do see the original user account folder (knolan.CEPP) listed but the odd thing is that if I go Control Panel>User Accounts>Configure advanced user profile properties I see a user account listed as "Account Unknown" with a size of 2.46GB. I'm not sure if it is related to this issue or not but I have never seen an Account Unknown listed before, especially one with that kind of size.
Any suggestions on what I can try to get this workstation to rejoin the original domain? I am out of ideas and this is our only user having any issues at all.
We followed all of the steps; we switched to a workgroup and then rebooted and logged back in as the local adminstrator. We then tried using the Network ID wizard to rejoin the domain but we kept getting the same error saying "The network path was not found."
We struggled with this for some time but eventually had to give up and put our old server back into production. As soon as we connected the old server all of our other workstations were able to connect to the old domain perfectly fine except the one Windows 7 workstation that we had switched to Workgroup when we were trying to connect to the new domain controller.
Now no matter what I try on this workstation I cannot reconnect it back to the old domain. Every time it comes back saying "The network path was not found." We even tried deleting the Computer account on the server hoping that would allow it to rejoin but no dice.
If I go into C:\Users I do see the original user account folder (knolan.CEPP) listed but the odd thing is that if I go Control Panel>User Accounts>Configure advanced user profile properties I see a user account listed as "Account Unknown" with a size of 2.46GB. I'm not sure if it is related to this issue or not but I have never seen an Account Unknown listed before, especially one with that kind of size.
Any suggestions on what I can try to get this workstation to rejoin the original domain? I am out of ideas and this is our only user having any issues at all.
verify there isn't a manual DNS entry in the NIC setting on the workstation.
Do ipconfig /flushdns on the workstation and server before adding to the domain.
Do ipconfig /flushdns on the workstation and server before adding to the domain.
ASKER
I changed the computer name, rebooted the workstation and then I made sure the original computer name was deleted from the computer list in Active Directory. I then checked the network settings and made sure they were all set on Automatic. Then I went into CMD (ran as administrator) and did an ipconfig /flushdns. After that I tried joining the domain again but it still came back with the same "The network path was not found."
from the workstation can you ping the server?
does nslookup resolve?
you may want to uninstall the NIC completely, restart the workstation then reinstall sounds like it may have bad info still binding to it.
does nslookup resolve?
you may want to uninstall the NIC completely, restart the workstation then reinstall sounds like it may have bad info still binding to it.
ASKER
I can ping the server successfully however nslookup does not seem to be resolving correctly.
I'm not very familiar with using nslookup so maybe I am missing something but I just opened CMD as administrator and then typed "nslookup" and hit enter and this is what it returns:
DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.
Default Server: UnKnown
Address: 192.168.50.84
That is the correct address for our DNS but I'm not sure why it would be timing out, nor why it would be showing that the default server is unknown.
I will try to uninstall the NIC on the workstation and see if re installing that changes anything.
I'm not very familiar with using nslookup so maybe I am missing something but I just opened CMD as administrator and then typed "nslookup" and hit enter and this is what it returns:
DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.
Default Server: UnKnown
Address: 192.168.50.84
That is the correct address for our DNS but I'm not sure why it would be timing out, nor why it would be showing that the default server is unknown.
I will try to uninstall the NIC on the workstation and see if re installing that changes anything.
1- Uninstall TCP/IP
2- Reinstall TCP/IP
3- Reboot
4- Make sure Computer Account has been removed from domain
5- Verify Computers IP Settings are correct including DNS Servers
6- Ping server IP, if OK ping server hostname, if OK rejoin domain
I've seen this when TCP/IP stack is broken.
2- Reinstall TCP/IP
3- Reboot
4- Make sure Computer Account has been removed from domain
5- Verify Computers IP Settings are correct including DNS Servers
6- Ping server IP, if OK ping server hostname, if OK rejoin domain
I've seen this when TCP/IP stack is broken.
ASKER
Sorry to sound stupid but I'm not sure of the proper way to uninstall and reinstall TCP/IP.
I found this Repair TCP/IP Stackfor repairing the TCP/IP stack but repairing is clearly different from uninstalling and reinstalling so I didn't want to proceed until I could clarify if this would be the same procedure.
Can you please confirm if that is the correct procedure or provide instructions on the proper way to uninstall/reinstall TCP/IP?
Also, I did try uninstalling the NIC but unfortunately that didn't help either.
I found this Repair TCP/IP Stackfor repairing the TCP/IP stack but repairing is clearly different from uninstalling and reinstalling so I didn't want to proceed until I could clarify if this would be the same procedure.
Can you please confirm if that is the correct procedure or provide instructions on the proper way to uninstall/reinstall TCP/IP?
Also, I did try uninstalling the NIC but unfortunately that didn't help either.
Control Panel - Network And Sharing Center - Change Adapter Settings (top left) - Right click adapter and choose properties. Just unselect TCP/IP and click OK. This will kill network connectivity so write down ip settings first, then just go back in and select it.
Then reconfigure network addressing if not DHCP.
Then reconfigure network addressing if not DHCP.
ASKER
I went into the network adapter properties and uninstalled/reinstalled TCP/IP as 0xSaPx0 had outlined. I rebooted and made sure that the computer account was removed from the domain. I then went into the IPv4 settings and left everything at automatic except the DNS which I set to 192.168.50.84.
After that I pinged 192.168.50.84 and it returned successfully. I then pinged cepp.local (the domain I am trying to join) and that returned successfully.
After doing all of that I tried joining the domain again but I still got the, "The network path was not found" message.
I also tried running nslookup again just to see what it said and this time it didn't have anything about a DNS timeout but it did still come back with:
Default Server: UnKnown
Address: 192.168.50.84
After that I pinged 192.168.50.84 and it returned successfully. I then pinged cepp.local (the domain I am trying to join) and that returned successfully.
After doing all of that I tried joining the domain again but I still got the, "The network path was not found" message.
I also tried running nslookup again just to see what it said and this time it didn't have anything about a DNS timeout but it did still come back with:
Default Server: UnKnown
Address: 192.168.50.84
Check to make sure the TCP/IP Netbios helper service is started
ASKER
Yes, TCP/IP Netbios Helper Service is started and is set to Automatic.
on the server running DNS run dcdiag: test/dns and post the results
ASKER
Directory Server Diagnosis
Performing initial setup:
Trying to find home server...
Home Server = ce-fdc
* Identified AD Forest.
Done gathering initial info.
Doing initial required tests
Testing server: Default-First-Site-Name\CE
Starting test: Connectivity
......................... CE-FDC passed test Connectivity
Doing primary tests
Testing server: Default-First-Site-Name\CE
Starting test: DNS
DNS Tests are running and not hung. Please wait a few minutes...
......................... CE-FDC passed test DNS
Running partition tests on : ForestDnsZones
Running partition tests on : DomainDnsZones
Running partition tests on : Schema
Running partition tests on : Configuration
Running partition tests on : cepp
Running enterprise tests on : cepp.local
Starting test: DNS
Summary of test results for DNS servers used by the above domain
controllers:
DNS server: 216.130.105.133 (<name unavailable>)
1 test failure on this DNS server
PTR record query for the 1.0.0.127.in-addr.arpa. failed on the DNS server 216.130.105.133
......................... cepp.local passed test DNS
Performing initial setup:
Trying to find home server...
Home Server = ce-fdc
* Identified AD Forest.
Done gathering initial info.
Doing initial required tests
Testing server: Default-First-Site-Name\CE
Starting test: Connectivity
......................... CE-FDC passed test Connectivity
Doing primary tests
Testing server: Default-First-Site-Name\CE
Starting test: DNS
DNS Tests are running and not hung. Please wait a few minutes...
......................... CE-FDC passed test DNS
Running partition tests on : ForestDnsZones
Running partition tests on : DomainDnsZones
Running partition tests on : Schema
Running partition tests on : Configuration
Running partition tests on : cepp
Running enterprise tests on : cepp.local
Starting test: DNS
Summary of test results for DNS servers used by the above domain
controllers:
DNS server: 216.130.105.133 (<name unavailable>)
1 test failure on this DNS server
PTR record query for the 1.0.0.127.in-addr.arpa. failed on the DNS server 216.130.105.133
......................... cepp.local passed test DNS
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
This question has been classified as abandoned and is closed as part of the Cleanup Program. See the recommendation for more details.
delete the original computer name from ADUC then rejoin.