Cannot Log On If Time and Date Are Not Synchronized

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to log on to the network, you may receive the following error message:

The system cannot log you on due to the following error:
There is a time difference between the Client and Server.
Please try again or consult your system administrator.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if the time or date is not synchronized between your computer and the domain to which you are attempting to log on. If the client computer's time or date is not synchronized with the authenticating domain controller, Kerberos validation does not succeed. This occurs because of the variation in the time stamps between the AS_Req and AS_reply between the client and server. Because Kerberos is the only form of logon authentication between two Windows 2000-based computers, the logon does not succeed.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, log on to your computer locally using an account with administrative privileges and set the time and date to match the time and date on the domain controller that validates your logon.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbenv kbnetwork
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb