Group Policy not allowing domain users to log into new computer joined to domain

Question

I have had to rebuild some of the group policy on our company domain due to corruption and am experiencing issues when joining a new workstation to the domain.

Desired behavior:

Users defined in the AD (as users or remote desktop users) are able to log onto the workstation from the login screen

Observed behavior:

After joining the domain, no AD defined users can log into the workstation and the local admin user no longer has remote desktop access

Answer 1

Hello Eric,

Thank you for your question and for reaching out with your question today.

When you rebuild the Group Policy on your company domain, it's important to ensure that the necessary settings are correctly applied to allow users to log onto workstations and maintain remote desktop access. Here are some steps to troubleshoot the observed behaviour:

1. Verify Group Policy settings: Double-check the Group Policy settings related to user logon and remote desktop access. Ensure that the necessary policies are applied and configured correctly. Pay attention to policies related to user rights assignments, local security policies, and remote desktop settings.
2. Check user permissions: Ensure that the AD-defined users have the necessary permissions to log onto workstations and access remote desktop. Verify that these users are added to appropriate groups such as "Users" or "Remote Desktop Users" in Active Directory.
3. Test with a specific user: Select a specific AD-defined user and try logging onto the workstation with that user's credentials. Check if any specific error messages are displayed during the logon process. This can help identify any specific issues with the user's permissions or Group Policy settings.
4. Review event logs: Examine the event logs on the workstation for any errors or warnings related to user logon or remote desktop access. Look for Event IDs that may provide more details about the issue. Check both the System and Security event logs.
5. Use Group Policy Results wizard: Run the Group Policy Results wizard on the workstation to verify which Group Policy settings are being applied and if there are any conflicts or errors. This can help identify any misconfigured or conflicting policies that may be affecting user logon and remote desktop access.
6. Review firewall settings: Ensure that the necessary firewall rules are in place to allow remote desktop connections to the workstation. Check both the local firewall settings on the workstation and any network-level firewalls that may be blocking the connections.
7. Reset local admin user access: If the local admin user no longer has remote desktop access after joining the domain, check the local user account settings. Ensure that the user is still a member of the local "Administrators" group and that the appropriate user rights assignments are in place.
8. Test on different workstations: Try joining a new workstation to the domain and see if the same issues occur. This can help determine if the issue is specific to the workstation or if it's a broader domain-related problem.

If the above steps do not resolve the issues, it may be necessary to further investigate the Group Policy settings, permissions, or other domain-related configurations.

I used AI provided by ChatGPT to formulate part of this response. I have verified that the information is accurate before sharing it with you.

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Best regards.