Confirm Group Membership
After you have added the Windows 2000 Professional-based computer to the domain or workgroup, you need to verify that the move was successful. To do so, restart the computer. After you perform the Ctrl+Alt+Del key combination, check the Log on to list. If you have joined a domain, the list should include the logon domain and any of its trusted domains. This is the first step to verify that you have successfully added the computer account to the logon domain. To test a valid user account, log on to the logon or trusted domain. If you can log on to the domain by using the logon credentials located at the domain controller, then access to user accounts at the selected domain has been successfully granted. If a message is displayed indicating that you are connected by using cached credentials, it is an indication that the domain controller could not be contacted during the account authentication process. Verify that the physical connection (network adapter and cables) and logical connection (transport protocol configuration) permits access to the domain controller.The Nltest.exe utility included with the Windows 2000 Professional Resource Kit CD is a command-line utility that can be used to test the logical connection between a Windows 2000 Professional computer and a Windows 2000 or Windows NT domain controller. Nltest.exe can also be used to determine if a user account can be successfully authenticated by a domain controller, to determine which domain controller will perform the authentication, and provide a list of trusted domains.The "logical connection" between the Windows 2000 Professional computer and the domain controller is known as a secure channel. Secure channels are used to authenticate Windows 2000 and Windows NT computer accounts and to authenticate user accounts when a remote user connects to a network resource and the user account exists in a trusted domain (pass-through authentication). A secure channel must exist in order for account authentication to be performed. Nltest.exe can test secure channels and reset them if necessary. The syntax of Nltest.exe is:
nltest [/OPTIONS] |
Nltest Option | Function |
---|---|
/SERVER:<ServerName> | Specifies <ServerName>. |
/SC_QUERY:<DomainName> | Queries secure channel for <Domain> on <ServerName>. |
/DCLIST:<DomainName> | Obtains list of domain controllers for <DomainName>. |
/DCNAME:<DomainName> | Obtains the PDC name for <DomainName>. |
/DCTRUST:<DomainName> | Obtains name of DC is used for trust of <DomainName>. |
/WHOWILL:<DomainName>* <User>[<Iteration>] | Displays which <DomainName> will log on <User>. |
/FINDUSER:<User> | Displays which trusted <Domain> will log on <User>. |
/USER:<UserName> | Queries User info on <ServerName>. |
/TRUSTED_DOMAINS | Queries names of domains trusted by workstation. |
The following examples show a Windows 2000 Professional computer, Client1, that is a member of the Windows NT 4.0 domain Main_dom. The account User1 has been created within the domain.To determine the domain controllers in the Main_dom domain:
C:>nltest /dclist:Main_dom |
C:>nltest /whowill:Main_dom User1 |
C:>nltest /server:Client1 /sc_query:Main_Dom |