Problem solving..Re-adding to Ad domin

[RECOiL™]

I have a laptop user that is unable to log onto the network, the domain it would appear can not be found. I beleive the nic is working fine. I can ping the localhost and the default gateway.

Does deleting a computer account and re-adding have any benefits in these situations ? As the other network guy here seems to think that it will make no difference.

[nichomach]

What error do you actually receive when the user tries to log in? Can the user ping a DC by name? If you look in the System Properties, is the full computer name consistent with your domain (i.e. <computer>.mydomain.local/com/net/co.uk or whatever)?

[RECOiL™]

The **** domain can not be found

[nichomach]

Is the workstation being assigned its address via DHCP or static?

Edit: A delete and re-add is certainly worth a shot, as long as the underlying network config is correct.

[RECOiL™]

Dhcp

[nichomach]

OK, so can it ping a DC by name, not just IP address?

[allosunshine]

Theres no point reintroducing the workstaiton to the domain if you cant ping a DC.
Being able to ping the DC by name is false if you cant ping it by IP.
Can you ping the workstation from the DC??
There must be some comms issue somewhere if you cant ping.
In future dont bother pinging the DC by name, use the IP. I assume your DC has a static IP??

[nichomach]

Pinging the DC by name and getting a reply would indicate that name resolution is working, which is a bit important when you're trying to add a workstation to a domain.

[badass]

Check the event logs on both the Workstation and the DC. They have all kinds of useful info thats not in error messages.

The **** domain cannot be found is indicative of either a DNS problem or a problem contacting the DC.
Do an IPconfig and make sure all of the settings are correct.
Open the command prompt
type nslookup
then at the prompt type the DC's name without the suffix
Your response should be the FQDN (machine name.domain name) of the DC and its IP address. If not, DNS is deffo your problem