There are many kinds of problems that can arise in the computer world where an expert may be needed but fixing Active Directory issues like DNS problems is something you can do on your own. To do this, you need Internet access.
This is for computers running Windows 2000 and windows XP.
Step 1
The first step is to log in Domain controller via RDP or the console.
Step 2
Go to Microsoft’s website and download DcDiag.exe. This is only necessary if the Windows XP support tools are not installed. Install the program, following any instructions that are provided.
Step 3
Go to Start, Run and open a command window. Type “cmd” minus the quotations. Go to the folder where you extracted DcDiag.exe.
Step 4
Now you have to type “ipconfig /flushdns”, followed by “ipconfig /registerdns”. Do not type the quotations. This is going to flush the DNS resolver cache. The DNS source records will also be registered. You may also want the ARP cache cleared too. Just type “arp -d *” at the command line. This is optional.
Step 5
Type dcdiag /fix at the command prompt. Now the output has to be read through. The following may be included in the text:
Server GUID DNS name could not be resolved to an ipaddress.
Although GUID could not be resolved, the server name resolved to the ip address x.x.x.x and was pingable.
2Step 6
Type “dcdiag /fix” at the command prompt then “net stop netlogon” and “net start netlogon”. For all these commands, do not type the quotation marks.
The dcdiag should be run once again. This is to determine if the DNS controller is functioning. If you followed the steps, the error message will no longer appear. Just ignore some NIC error messages if they pop up; there won’t be a negative effect on the installation. You can also test it by adding more computers to your domain controllers.
Tips and Warnings
To avoid problems, it is a good idea to stop the netlogon service and start it again. Restarting usually does not work. Note that for a domain to work, you must have administrator access. Attempting to manually enter DNS records is not a good idea. It is very possible that some key entries will be missed.
Why does it happen?
There are many reasons why Active Directory does not configure DNS name space correctly. The first is that the computer doesn’t have the DNS set up correctly or installed. This problem manifests when you try to make a new domain. This can be verified by checking the DNS MMC console. Look for folders named GC, DC and others like it at the Forward lookup zone.
Other Information
When fixing Active Directory issues, it’s a good idea to learn some basic things about it. It is software technology developed by Microsoft. The structure is akin to a catalog, showing you everything that can be managed in a computer network. The system is hierarchically arranged. The list may include users, networks and individual computers.
The purpose of Active Directory is to help you effectively supervise a network. You can use Active Directory to standardize, synchronize and secure your network. The centerpiece is the lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP). LDAP is the means by which the system is arranged.
For security purposes, the Kerberos network authentication protocol is used. There is a DNS for (IP) address translation into names that can be recognized.
