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Q317049: You Cannot Log On After You Remove the Computer from the Domain

Article: Q317049
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kberrmsg ocsso
Last Modified: 12-APR-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

After you reconfigure a Windows NT Workstation or Windows NT Server computer to
change its membership from a domain to a workgroup, and then you restart the
computer, you cannot log on with your previous user name and password, and may
receive the following error message:

  The system could not log you on. Make sure your user name and domain are
  correct, then type your password again. Letters in passwords must be typed
  using the correct case. Make sure that Caps Lock is not accidentally on.

CAUSE
=====

This behavior occurs because the user name and password that you previously used
are available for logon only to a domain. Your computer is no longer a member of
a domain, and therefore your logon attempt must be validated on the local
computer by using the local security database. To log on to the computer, you
must provide a user name and password that exists in the local computer's user
database, or Security Accounts Manager (SAM).

RESOLUTION
==========

Make sure that the local security database on the computer contains the default
Administrator account from when the computer was first installed, along with any
additional user accounts that have been created, in its local users security
settings.

If you do not know your local user account and password, you cannot log on to the
computer.

To resolve this issue, use a recent copy of the Windows NT Emergency Repair Disk
(ERD) to restore the registry files on your system. This resolution permits you
to restore the computer's user database (or SAM) to a version for which you have
a correct user name and password.

Note that when you replace the SAM from the ERD, this replaces the user accounts
and passwords with those that existed on the date that the ERD was created.
Therefore, when you use an account created by this method, you will need to know
that account's password on the date that the ERD was created.

Also, depending on the options used during the creation of the ERD (such as
whether the /S switch was used or not), the ERD may not include all existing
user accounts.

By using the ERD, you are also required to start your computer from either the
Windows NT 4.0 CD-ROM or from a boot disk, and to select the Repair option.
During the repair process, select only the Registry option in the first window.
Later in the repair process, a second window will offer options for which
registry hives to repair, and here you need to select the SAM option.

For additional information about ERDs and how to perform an emergency repair in
Windows NT, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q156328 Description of Windows NT Emergency Repair Disk

  Q122857 RDISK /S and RDISK /S- Options in Windows NT

WORKAROUND
==========

If you do not have an ERD, you may install a parallel installation of Windows NT
as a workaround.

A parallel installation will permit you to log on to the computer by using this
installation and therefore gain access to, or copy your files from, the
computer. However, this method will not permit you to retrieve either user names
or passwords from the original Windows NT installation. After you have backed up
all of your files by using the parallel installation, you have the choice to
reformat your hard disk and then reinstall Windows NT, or to configure the new
parallel installation for your needs and use it instead.

For additional information about how to perform a Windows NT parallel
installation, click the article number below to view the article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q259003 How and Why to Perform a Parallel Installation of Windows NT 4.0

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kberrmsg ocsso 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400
Version           : :4.0
Issue type        : kbprb

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