Troubleshoot networking errors that occur when you join Windows-based computers to a domain

This article describes several networking related error messages that occur when you join client computers that are running Windows to a domain. This article also provides troubleshooting suggestions for these errors. For authentication related error messages, see Troubleshoot authentication errors that occur when you join Windows-based computers to a domain.

Original KB number:   4341920

Where to find the NetSetup.log file

The NetSetup.log file contains most information about domain join activities. The file is located on the client machine at %windir%\debug\NetSetup.log. This log file is enabled by default. No need to explicitly enable it.

An attempt to resolve the DNS name of a DC in the domain being joined has failed. Please verify this client is configured to reach a DNS server that can resolve DNS names in the target domain

When you type the domain name, make sure that you type the Domain Name System (DNS) name and not the network basic input/output System (NetBIOS) name. For example, if the DNS name of the target domain is contoso.com, make sure that you enter contoso.com instead of the NetBIOS domain name of "contoso."

Additionally, verify that the computer can reach a DNS server that hosts the DNS zone of the target domain or can resolve DNS names in that domain. Make sure that the correct DNS server is configured on this client as the preferred DNS, and that the client has connectivity to that server. To verify this, you can run one of the following commands:

nltest /dsgetdc:<netbios domain name> /force

nltest /dsgetdc:<DNS domain name> /force

An attempt to resolve the DNS name of a domain controller in the domain being joined has failed. Please verify this client is configured to reach a DNS server that can resolve DNS names in the target Domain

When you type the domain name, make sure that you type the DNS name and not the NetBIOS name.

Additionally, verify that the computer can reach a DNS server that hosts the DNS zone of the target domain or can resolve DNS names in that domain. Make sure that the correct DNS server is configured on this client as the preferred DNS, and that the client has connectivity to that server. To verify this, you can run one of the following commands:

nltest /dsgetdc:<netbios domain name> /force

nltest /dsgetdc:<DNS domain name> /force

An operation was attempted on a nonexistent network connection

When you type the domain name, make sure that you type the DNS name and not the NetBIOS name.

Additionally, restart the computer before you try to join the computer to the domain.

Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user name, are not allowed. Disconnect all previous connections to the server or shared resource and try again

Restart the computer that you're trying to join to the domain to make sure that there are no latent connections to any of the domain servers.

When you type the domain name, make sure that you type the DNS name and not the NetBIOS name.

Network name cannot be found

Verify that the computer can reach a DNS server that hosts the DNS zone of the target domain or can resolve DNS names in that domain. Make sure that the correct DNS server has been configured on this client as the preferred DNS, and that the client has connectivity to that server. To verify this, you can run one of the following commands:

nltest /dsgetdc:<netbios domain name> /force

nltest /dsgetdc:<DNS domain name> /force

When you type the domain name, make sure that you type the DNS name and not the NetBIOS name.

Additionally, you can update the network adapter driver.

No more connections can be made to this remote computer at this time because there are already as many connections as the computer can accept

Before joining the computer to the domain, make sure that you have cleared all mapped connections to any drives.

Restart the computer that you're trying to join to the domain to make sure that there are no latent connections to any of the domain servers.

When you type the domain name, make sure that you type the DNS name and not the NetBIOS name.

The error might be transient. Try again later. If the issue persists, verify the status of the domain controller (DC) that the client is connecting to (active connections, network connectivity, and so on). You might want to restart the DC if the issue persists.

The format of the specified network name is invalid

Verify that the computer can reach a DNS server that hosts the DNS zone of the target domain or can resolve DNS names in that domain. Make sure that the correct DNS server has been configured on this client as the preferred DNS, and that the client has connectivity to that server. To verify this, you can run one of the following commands:

nltest /dsgetdc:<netbios domain name> /force

nltest /dsgetdc:<DNS domain name> /force

When you type the domain name, make sure that you type the DNS name and not the NetBIOS name. Make sure that you have the most up-to-date drivers installed for the client computer's network adapter. Verify connectivity between the client that is being joined and the target DC over the required ports and protocols. Disable the TCP Chimney Offload feature and IP offloading.

The directory service has exhausted the pool of relative identifiers

Make sure that the DC that hosts the relative ID (RID) operations master is online and functional. For more information, see Event ID 16650: The account-identifier allocator failed to initialize in Windows Server.

Note

You can use the netdom query fsmo command to determine which DC has the RID Master role.

Verify that Active Directory is replicating between all DCs. You can use the following command to detect any errors:

repadmin /replsummary /bysrc /bydest /sort:delta

The remote procedure call failed and did not execute

Make sure that you have the most up-to-date drivers installed for the client computer's network adapter. Verify connectivity between the client that is being joined and the target DC over the required ports and protocols. Disable the TCP Chimney Offload feature and IP offloading.

This problem can also be caused by one of the following conditions:

• A network device (router, firewall, or VPN device) is blocking connectivity over the ports and protocols that are used by the MSRPC protocol.
• A network device (router, firewall, or VPN device) is rejecting network packets between the client that is being joined and the DC.

Note

The following articles contain port requirement information:

• Service overview and network port requirements for Windows
• How to configure a firewall for domains and trusts

Changing the Primary Domain DNS name of this computer to "" failed. The name will remain ".". The specified server cannot perform the operation

This error occurs when you use the domain join UI to join a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 workgroup computer to an Active Directory domain by specifying the target DNS domain. To fix this error, see Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 domain join displays error "Changing the Primary Domain DNS name of this computer to "" failed....".