I have a network with 2 DC's. The original with most of the FSMO roles has developed a problem in the last month that surfaces randomly about twice a week. For no apparent reason we lose the ability to interact with that DC. I have checked DNS and it appears ok, if i ping it resolves correctly and pings return in <1 ms. The most noticeable symptom is that new users cannot log on or logon very slowly and existing users lose access to shares. net view \\servername and net view\ip both produce the same error 53 netdom returns the DC correctly logging on to the server locally takes a long time but once done taskmanager looks normal, there are no obvious errors in the logs and one can net view the local shares or the shares of other systems A reboot inevitably fixes things. Just today after the problem I realized that i had not checked the binding order and a second nic which is disabled was higher in the order. I have reversed that and hopefully that may have been the problem, but if anyone has other tests i should try if this happens again I would truly appreciate it

Hello, let's start with DNS setup, as all the symptoms point to it. Please post an unedited ipconfig /all from the DCs and a problem client. Additional make sure that Fast logon optimization is disabled: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc780527(WS.10).aspx http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305293Best regards Meinolf Weber Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.

Hi, This problem may occur if File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks is disabled or is not installed. To resolve this problem, make sure File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks is enabled. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Log on to the computer by using administrative credentials. 2. Double-click My Computer, double-click Control Panel, and then double-click Network and Dial-Up Connections. 3. Double-click the network connection you want to modify, and then click Properties. 4. On the General tab in the Components checked are used by this connection area, locate File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks. If it is not listed, install it by clicking the Install button and then double-clicking Service. 5. Make sure that the check box next to File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks is selected. This setting makes shared resources available on the network. For more information, please refer to the following Microsoft KB article: Error when you try to access shared resources on a computer that is running Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003: "System error 53 has occurred" or "System error 51 has occurred" http://support.microsoft.com/kb/259878 Regards,Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.