Logon Attempt Does Not Work After New Windows NT Installation

ID: Q243643

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0

NOTE: This article and the hotfix associated with it applies to the initial version of Windows NT Workstation, Windows NT Server, and Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition. This hotfix is not compatible with Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 2 or later.

SYMPTOMS

After you install a Windows NT system in an existing domain, you may receive the following error message when you attempt to log on (or if automatic logon is configured):

The system cannot log you on because the system's computer account in it's primary domain is missing or the password on that account is incorrect.

CAUSE

This problem is caused by Netlogon.dll on the client computer. The update to correct the problem must be installed on the client computer during installation.

When a Windows NT-based computer joins a domain during installation, a machine account is created on the primary domain controller (PDC). If the PDC is running Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 or later, the new account is not replicated to backup domain controllers (BDCs) until the next scheduled Netlogon replication interval. Before Service Pack 4, the PDC replicates all machine account updates immediately. When a domain user logs on or an automatic logon to the domain occurs, the client computer establishes a session with either the PDC or one of the BDCs. If a BDC does not have the computer account in its database, it returns "User Unknown" to the client computer logon request. When it receives this response, the client computer stop processing the logon request and displays the error message.

NOTE: The default Netlogon replication pulse is five minutes, but is configurable. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q142692 Minimizing WAN Traffic

RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

The English-language version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:


   Date       Time     Size      File name      Platform
   -----------------------------------------------------
   08/04/99   10:06a   152,336   Netlogon.dl_   x86
   08/05/99   10:31a   252,176   Netlogon.dl_   Alpha

NOTE: There is also a version of this hotfix to the Netlogon.dll file that is compatible with Service Pack 4 and 5. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q223997 Logon Attempt Does Not Work on New Installation of Windows NT

You must use both updates to fully correct the problem described in this article. The changes in both versions allow the client computer to continue processing logon responses until it receives a valid response or until a time-out occurs. The time-out period is related to several factors, but is typically three to five seconds. The error message is displayed if a time-out occurs and a valid logon response has not been received by the client.

Because you must modify the installation folder, you must use over-the-network installations or installations that pre-copy the files to the local hard disk. You cannot use this fix when you install from one of the standard Microsoft Windows NT CD-ROMs or Windows NT Service Pack CD-ROMs.

To install, you must replace the Netlogon.dll file that is included with the original version of Windows NT 4.0 with the version that is associated with this hotfix.

In the appropriate platform installation folder (I386 or Alpha), rename the Netlogon.dl_ file to Netlogon.org.

Copy the Netlogon.dl_ file that is included with this update to the installation folder.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use any of the following methods:

Add all computer accounts before you install Windows NT on the computers, making sure that the entire domain is synchronized before you continue with the installation.

Use an LMHOST file that has a #PRE #DOM entry with the PDC's IP address specified.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words: announce immediate

Keywords : kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00
Version : winnt:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug