Dial-Up Networking Dialog Box Prompts for Domain Name

Last reviewed: March 20, 1998
Article ID: Q148899
95 WINDOWS kbnetwork kbtool

The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Microsoft Windows 98
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SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to establish a Dial-Up Networking connection with another Windows 95 or Windows 98-based computer, you may receive a User Logon dialog box in which you are prompted for a user name, a password, and a domain name.

NOTE: In the Novell environment, the domain name prompt is replaced with a preferred server prompt.

Attempting to respond to the prompts by clicking OK yields the following message:

   The computer you have dialed in to has denied access because the
   username and/or password is invalid on the domain.

After you receive this message, the connection is terminated.

CAUSE

The user name, password, domain name, or preferred server name you are using is incorrect, or the password cache files have become damaged.

RESOLUTION

This behavior can occur in either of the following situations:

  • The Windows Dial-Up Networking Server is connected to a LAN that uses a Microsoft Windows NT or Novell NetWare server for user validation.
  • The Windows Dial-Up Networking Server is not connected to a LAN and does not use a Windows NT or NetWare server for user validation.

In the first situation, if user-level security is enabled, the Dial-Up Networking (DUN) Server provides pass-through user validation to a Windows NT or NetWare server. In this case, correcting the erroneous user name, password, domain name, or preferred server name will resolve the issue. It is important to remember when you are using user-level security that a user must have a valid account on the network and must be added to the DUN Server's access list before the user can attempt access.

With share-level security, the server can be password-protected. In this case, the DUN Server does not provide pass-through user validation.

In the second situation, in which the DUN Server does not provide pass- through user validation, the following items can cause the behavior described in this article:

  • There is a password for the server but you are using an incorrect password.
  • There is no password for the server but you are providing a password.
  • The RNA password list cache (PWL) file is damaged.

If you are providing a password when one is not needed, remove the pass- word from the Dial-Up Networking connectoid with which you are attempting the connection. If you do not know whether a password is needed for the server, you have forgotten the password, or the PWL files are damaged, follow these steps on both computers (that is, on both the client and the server):

  1. Close all open programs.

  2. Restart the computer. For Windows 95, when you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu. For Windows 98, press and hold down the CTRL key after your computer completes the Power On Self Test (POST), and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu. For more information about Windows 98 startup, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

          ARTICLE-ID: Q178548
    
          TITLE     : No "Starting Windows 98" Message at StartupWhen you see
    
       NOTE: You must restart your computer to a command prompt to follow
       these steps correctly. If you rename the Rna.pwl file in an MS-DOS
       session within Windows, the cached copy of the file is flushed back
       to disk when you shut down and restart the computer.
    
    

  3. Type the following line, and then press ENTER

          cd <windows>
    

    where <windows> is your Windows folder.

  4. Type the following line, and then press ENTER:

          ren rna.pwl rna.xxx
    

    Renaming the Rna.pwl file resets the password settings for Dial-Up Server and Direct Cable Connection.

  5. Restart the computer.

After you restart the computer, when you start Dial-Up Networking or DUN Server loads, you receive an error message stating that the password list file is damaged or missing. Acknowledge this message to continue. A new Rna.pwl file is created automatically.

NOTE: If you have installed Microsoft Windows 95 Service Pack 1, password list files can become damaged even after you remove them and they are re- created automatically. To resolve this issue, obtain the Mspwlupd2.exe update file and run it. You can obtain this file from the following page on the Microsoft site on the World Wide Web:

   http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/info/passwd.htm


KBCategory: kbnetwork kbtool
KBSubcategory: win95 dun
Additional reference words: 95 corrupted
Keywords : kbnetwork kbtool dun win98 win95
Version : 95 98
Platform : WINDOWS


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Last reviewed: March 20, 1998
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