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Windows 98 clients can't access Win2k domain server
I have recently networked a new small business (10 workstations) and set them up in a workgroup configuration. Everything worked great in this configuration. We built a Win2k server for them and just got it back from a vendor that installed their specialized accounting software on it. I installed it today and attempted to log the clients (Windows 98) on the domain. I received the error: "No domain server available to validate password."
I created valid user accounts as well as valid computer accounts on the server, but it didn't help. I brought in a laptop loaded with Win2k and was able to join the domain with no problem. I don't know if this is a WINS problem or a DNS problem. I can ping to the server as well as from the server to the clients. The last resort would be to upgrade all the clients to Win2k, but if I can get it to work with Windows 98 clients, then I'd like to stay as is.
The Windows 98 clients are using WINS to locate the domain controller. The Windows 2000 machines will be using DNS. Most likely the Windows 2000 machine does not have the WINS server configured for it. If you configure the WINS servers, the Win2k server will register its services there and the Windows 98 clients will be able to find it. The alternative is to download and install the Active Directory client for Windows 98. This will enhance the integration with Windows 98 and allow it to use DNS as a source for locating records.
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