Lesson 2: Troubleshooting User Logon | MCDST Self-Paced Training Exam 70-271(c) Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Micro[... ]ystem

As a DST, you may be called for troubleshooting help when a user has problems logging on to a computer or a domain. Although many logon problems are caused by underlying problems with network connectivity (which you learn more about in Chapter 10, “Supporting Network Connectivity,” there are a number of other logon-related problems you should understand how to resolve.

After this lesson, you will be able to

Troubleshoot common password problems.
Troubleshoot domain-related logon problems.
Troubleshoot profile-related logon problems.

Estimated lesson time: 20 minutes

Troubleshooting Password Problems

Password problems are the second most common type of logon problem, following problems with network connectivity. If users see the error message Unknown Username Or Bad Password, they probably are not logging on correctly. The common causes of this error message are the following:

The user is mistyping the user name and/or password.
The user has the Caps Lock key engaged.

Have the user make sure that the correct information is being typed and that the Caps Lock key is not engaged. If this fails to resolve the issue and the user is trying to log on to a domain, have the user contact an administrator.

Exam Tip

The two most common reasons why a user receives the Unknown Username Or Bad Password error message are that the user is typing the wrong credentials or that the Caps Lock key is engaged.

Resolving Lost Passwords for Local User Accounts

Users that are not connected to a domain and are trying to log on to a local computer can often use a different account with administrative privileges to log on to the computer and then reset their own password. However, if users reset their own passwords, the following information is lost:

E-mail that is encrypted with the user’s public key
Internet passwords that are saved on the computer
Files that the user has encrypted

To reset a local user account password, the user must log on to the computer with a different account, such as a local Administrator account. To reset a local user account password, follow these steps:

From the Start menu, select Control Panel.
In Control Panel, select Performance And Maintenance.
In the Performance And Maintenance window, select Administrative Tools.
In the Administrative Tools window, select Computer Management.
In the Computer Management window, expand the Local Users And Groups node and then select the Users folder.
Right-click the user account and then select Set Password.
Read the warning message and then click Proceed.
In the New Password and Confirm New Password boxes, type the new password and then click OK.

Creating a Password Reset Disk

The password reset disk is a floppy disk that contains encrypted password information and allows users to change their password without knowing the old password. As standard practice, you should encourage users to create a password reset disk and keep it in a secure location.

To create a password reset disk for a domain-based user account, follow these steps:

Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and then click Change Password.
In the User Name box, type the user name of the account for which you want to create a password reset disk.
In the Log On To box, click ComputerName, where ComputerName is your assigned computer name, and then click Backup.
Follow the steps in the Forgotten Password Wizard until the procedure is complete. Store the password reset disk in a secure place.

To create a password reset disk for a local user account, follow these steps:

From the Start menu, select Control Panel.
In Control Panel, select User Accounts.
In the User Accounts window, select User Accounts.
If you are logged on using a Computer Administrator account, click the account name and then, in the Related Tasks list, select Prevent A Forgotten Password. If you are logged on using a Limited account, the Prevent A Forgotten Password option is located on the main page of the User Accounts window (you do not have to click the account name first).
Follow the steps in the Forgotten Password Wizard until the procedure is complete. Store the password reset disk in a secure place.

Users cannot change their password and create a password reset disk at the same time. If a user types a new password in the New Password and Confirm New Password boxes before the user clicks Backup, the new password information is not saved. When the wizard prompts a user for his current user account password, the user must type the old password.

Users can change their password any time after they create a password reset disk. They do not have to create a new password reset disk if they change their password or if the password is reset manually.

When logging on, if a user forgets the password and has previously created a password reset disk, the user is presented with an option to reset his password by using the password reset disk. Select the option on the logon screen to launch the Password Reset Wizard. The Password Reset Wizard asks users to create a new password and hint. Log on with the new password and then return the password reset disk to its safe storage place. The user does not need to make a new password reset disk.

Troubleshooting Domain Logon Problems

When users log on to a domain, they must authenticate with the domain controller that contains their user account. Some corporate infrastructures are large and contain many domains. In this scenario, a user might have to choose which domain to log on to from a drop-down list on the logon screen. If users do not know which domain the user account is on, they cannot log on to the computer.

The Windows Log On dialog box does not show a list of available domains by default. The user can click the Options button in the Windows Log On dialog box and then select the correct domain name from the Log on to list box.

Exam Tip

The most common reasons for a failed logon for a domain user are network connectivity issues and attempting to log on to the wrong domain.

Resolving Problems with Cached Credentials

When users join a domain, there may be times when they must log on to their computers, but the computers cannot contact the domain controller to validate the logon. In this scenario, users can log on to their computers by using cached credentials, which are copies of the security credentials that were last used to access the domain.

Common issues when working with cached credentials are as follows:

The user has installed Windows XP, but has not installed a service pack and cannot log on using cached credentials. This is a known issue; the user must install Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later to resolve the issue.
After logging on with cached credentials and connecting to a network from home, the user cannot connect to resources on a mapped drive. The user cannot access the resources because the user has not received a current access token from the domain. To resolve this issue, the user should create a new map to a network resource. This process will reissue an access token to the remote computer.

Troubleshooting Missing Domain Controller Issues

A domain user might experience an error message during logon, stating that a domain controller could not be located to perform the logon. This commonly occurs when a user is logging on to a computer on the domain for the first time, but the domain controller is not currently available or the computer is not connected to the domain. See Chapter 10 for information on troubleshooting network connections. If network connections are working properly for the computer, the user should contact an administrator for further assistance.

Troubleshooting Profile-Related Problems

Issues related to user profiles usually appear during the logon process. You can resolve some of these issues by starting the computer in safe mode. For example, if an application that is set to launch at startup becomes a problem, standard safe mode troubleshooting procedures can detect and correct this issue.

If starting in safe mode does not resolve the issue, or if you cannot locate the cause of the issue by using standard safe mode troubleshooting procedures, you should consider troubleshooting the user profile. The first step of troubleshooting the user profile is to determine whether the user profile is the issue. For local profiles, consider the following:

Can another user log on to the same computer with a different user account? Does the other user experience the issue? If not, the problem is definitely a user profile issue.
If no other user accounts can access the computer, try to create a new user account. Then, log off the computer and log on again as the new user account. This forces the creation of a new local profile from the default user profile. Does the issue go away? If so, this is a user profile issue.
If either of the preceding steps fails to solve the issue, troubleshoot the All Users profile.

For roaming profiles, consider the following:

If the user attempts to log on to another computer, does the issue go away? If so, the issue is most likely with the All Users profile on the afflicted computer.
If the user cannot log on to another computer, see whether another user can log on to the afflicted computer. Does the issue still occur? If so, the issue is most likely with the All Users profile.

If you isolate a profile as the problem, try some or all of the following:

Examine the amount of space that is available on the volume. If it is extremely low, instruct the user to create some free space.
If you suspect the problem is within a certain profile subfolder, back up the contents of that folder and then delete its contents.
Ensure that the user’s account has sufficient permissions to access the profile folder.
Restore the profile to previous settings using System Restore, following the steps outlined in Knowledge Base article 306084, “HOW TO: Restore the Operating System to a Previous State in Windows XP.”
If the preceding efforts fail, the user profile is probably corrupt and you must create a new profile. To create a new profile, you must log on to the computer as a user with administrative rights. After logging on, delete the old profile and then log on to the computer with the user’s account. Windows will create a new profile when the user logs on.

Lesson Review

The following questions are intended to reinforce key information presented in this lesson. If you are unable to answer a question, review the lesson materials and try the question again. You can find answers to the questions in the “Questions and Answers” section at the end of this chapter.

A user complains that when he tries to log on, he receives the error message Unknown Username Or Bad Password. What are the common causes of this problem?
When a local user must reset a password, what information is lost?

Lesson Summary

Problems with passwords are the second most common type of logon problem (following problems with network connectivity). If users see the error message Unknown Username Or Bad Password, make sure that the user is typing the information correctly and that the Caps Lock key is not engaged.
Users who are not connected to a domain and are trying to log on to a local computer can often use a different account with administrative privileges to log on to the computer and then reset their own password.
The password reset disk is a floppy disk that contains encrypted password information. The password reset disk allows users to change their password without knowing the old password.
When troubleshooting domain logon problems, check network connectivity and make sure that the user is selecting the correct domain to log on to.
You can resolve many profile-related problems by starting a computer in safe mode. For more serious problems, you may have to delete a profile and let Windows re-create the profile the next time the user logs on.