You usually receive this error in a computer (Windows XP) connected in a domain (Windows Server 2003), when adding a user from System Properties -> User Profiles -> Advanced -> User Accounts
REASON:
- The IP address of the Domain Server is not configured in client's TCP/IP
- You have to rejoin the computer in the domain
SOLUTION:
- Make sure that your DHCP Server has DNS configured pointing to the DNS server
- Rejoin the domain by doing:
- Go to Active Directory and reset the account of the computer having an issue by right-clicking at the computer name (let say workstation1) and choose Reset Account
- Restart the workstation1
- you will not be able to login in the Domain after, and you will receive the following error
Windows cannot connect to the domain, either because the domain controller is down or otherwise unavailable or because your computer account was not found. Please try again later. If this message continues to appear, contact your system administrator for assistance. - Login to workstation1 as a local user
- join workstation1 to Workgroup, then restart the computer
- go to Active Directory and delete workstation1 as a computer name
- while in Active Directory, create a new computer name workstation1
- go back to workstation1 and join the computer to the domain, then restart the computer
- login to workstation1 as a domain user
By that way, you can still have the same profile already in workstation1. There will be no hazzle of backing up the profile (just do to make sure anyway), copy the profile of the old profile to the new profile because of thinking that there will be a new profile created even though you are using the same login username.