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Domain login fails if snapshot is reverted
Symptoms
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The virtual machine has snapshots enabled
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The virtual machine is joined to a Windows domain
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The snapshot was reverted to a point more than 30 days in the past
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You are unable to log in to a virtual machine running Windows
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A Windows Logon error message appears:
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.
Resolution
This issue occurs because the machine account password changes automatically every 30 days when a computer is joined to a Windows domain. When the computer's snapshot is reverted to a point in the past, the password in the virtual machine does not match the version on the domain. When the passwords do not match the domain cannot authenticate the machine's system account credentials nor any user logins from that machine.
To ensure domain logins are successful:
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Remove the virtual machine from the Windows domain.
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Restart the virtual machine.
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Join the virtual machine back to the Windows domain.
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Restart the virtual machine.
Note: To prevent this issue from happening, disable machine account password updates. For more information, see How to disable automatic machine account password changes .
Additional Information
Also, the following Microsoft article contains related information:
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- KB Article: 1006764
- Updated: Aug 14, 2009
- Products:
VMware ACE
VMware ESX
VMware ESXi
VMware Fusion
VMware GSX Server
VMware Player
VMware Server
VMware Virtual Desktop Manager
VMware Workstation
VMware vCenter Lab Manager
VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager
VMware vCenter Stage Manager