Domain is unavailable when loging in to laptop from Home

[LunchBox]

Greetings,

I have client with a domain. They have a user with a lapotp that if the network cable is disconnected the user is not able to log in. The message that comes up is "Domian is Unavailable".

I removed and re-joined the laptop to the domain. The issue was not resolved. I had another user log in while the laptop is connected to the network. When the cable is removed no users (except for the local admin) are able to log in. I am referring to users whose accounts are cached.

I googled and the only thing I found was to navigate to

HKLM\Software\Microsfot\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
DefaultDomainName
AltDefaultDomainName

and make sure that both values containt the correct domain. Which they are.

I am out of ideas. Has anyone come across this issue?

[studiot]

I assume said laptop is connecting to something wirelessly?

Then is the IP dished out by the wifi DHCP in the range used by the Domain controller?

Have you traced how the laptop gets its DNS in wifi mode?

Alternatively is the routing space partitioned so that the wifi and domain are separate networks?

For example I have a hotel client with an wired office domain using on 192.168etc and a guest wifi distribution on 10.etc both connected to different spaces in the same Zyxel router.

I can plug my laptop into the domain by ethernet, but get an out of range IP if I try using the wifi.

[LunchBox]

Yes, the wifi and separate from the wired network.

Cached users can log in if the laptop is connected to the network via wire or wireless.

The problem arises when the laptop does not see the company network. So if I disconnect the cable and turn off the wireless and try to log in I get domain not available.

[studiot]

So if I disconnect the cable and turn off the wireless and try to log in I get domain not available.


It says October 21 in the bottom right of my screen, not April 1

Do I need a new battery?

:D:D:D

[Doctor Micro]

It says October 21 in the bottom right of my screen, not April 1

Do I need a new battery?

:D:D:D

Hehehe...

Seriously, I think the problem he's trying to describe is the inability to log on to the laptop using cached credentials when the domain is unavailable (for whatever reason) to authenticate the user.

While the laptop(s) are connected to the domain, go to User Accounts in the Control Panel and add the domain usernames as standard or power users. This should solve your problem. Here's why: If the domain account is not added to the laptop as a local user, there are no locally cached credentials and the laptop will look for the DC. Since it can't find it when the laptop is disconnected, you get the error message described, and your only option is to log on to the local machine with a local machine user account.

[studiot]

You mean log onto the laptop itself as any old user, not log the laptop onto a domain?

Sure demonstrates the value of being precise.