Admin privieleges

[Quetzal59]

Hello

I have a couple of general questionsa concerning problems with logging on to the network.

If a user cannot log-on to his computer while everyone else can, and there are no physical cable problems, how would an administrator ping the workstation?

That is, where would he get the IP address from – as the user cannot log-on to provide the administrator with it? Is the IP address available in Active Directory? If so, and the ping is unsuccessful, presumably the administrator might need to check that TCP/IP is installed correctly by typing ping 127.0.0.1 in cmd prompt from the user’s workstation. But how would he do that?

Can the administrator log-on to the user’s workstation – as long as it is turned on, of course – without the user’s specific permission in order to check the TCP/IP settings? If so, does he need administration privileges (an admin password, for example), and which tool does he use to access the workstation in this way? Is it the Remote Desktop tool?

Many thanks in advance.

Steve

[DonBB]

If a user cannot log-on to his computer while everyone else can, and there are no physical cable problems, how would an administrator ping the workstation?

That is, where would he get the IP address from – as the user cannot log-on to provide the administrator with it? Is the IP address available in Active Directory? If so, and the ping is unsuccessful, presumably the administrator might need to check that TCP/IP is installed correctly by typing ping 127.0.0.1 in cmd prompt from the user’s workstation. But how would he do that?



You can ping the user's computer name, and it will return his IP address.


Can the administrator log-on to the user’s workstation – as long as it is turned on, of course – without the user’s specific permission in order to check the TCP/IP settings? If so, does he need administration privileges (an admin password, for example), and which tool does he use to access the workstation in this way? Is it the Remote Desktop tool?



You can do this using Remote Desktop. However, remote connections will have to be enabled on the users computer in MY COMPUTER > PROPERTIES > REMOTE. You can either use the user's login credentials or the administrator's.

[DonBB]

If you don't know the user's exact computer name either, you can check the DHCP leases on the domain controller.

[Snurfen]

To add to DonBB's advice, it is always good practice to put a label on the front of a pc, so when the user calls you with an issue, they can accurately tell you the pc name, hence you can RDC into it.

Yu then need to keep a record, easily accesible to all admin staff, of the name of every pc and it's location and user - an excel spreadsheet is ideal for this (I also log the mac address of the network attached card - wired or wireless - so I can discover the port they live on at the distribution switch - saved my bacon more than once and saved my legs miles of walking!).

It is also good practice to have the local administrator account on every pc have the same password. Use that password ONLY for local admin on pc's NOT servers. Guard it with your life!

[Quetzal59]

Hello

Many thanks to you all for your replies.

That's clearer now. I was just trying to think of a scenario whereby a temp worker was not able to log-on to the system while everyone was able to. She had been given a user name and password but could still not log-on even after checking the cables.

I think what you are all saying is that the workstation should be properly labelled so she could provide the Helpdesk with a computer name, so the helpdesk can ping it. If she cannot see a label, then the helpdesk can 'check the DHCP leases on the domain controller', as snurfen suggests.

If, then, pinging the IP address (obtained from the DHCP leases) does not return any packets, it might be that TCP/IP is not installed correctly. If this is the case, using a local administrator's user name and password (since the local user name and password do not work as the temp worker has explained), the helpdesk can log on and ping 127.0.0.1.

If this returns no packets, then it is likely to be a TCP/IP problem which the helpdesk can resolve while logged on as local administrator.

Many thanks to you all agan.

Steve

[DonBB]

You mentioned Active Directory, so I am assuming you are on a domain. When the user tries to log in, what happens? What message is displayed? After 3 unsuccessful login attempts the account is probably locked out. You will need to go into Active Directory and unlock the account. This may have nothing to do with network connectivity, but we can't tell until you give us the message that is displayed when the user tries to log on.

[Quetzal59]

Hello Don

Thanks for your reply.

No, my situtation was purely hypothetical.

I am trying to study for one of Microsoft's exams and I'm trying to prepare for whatever questions are thrown at me.

I know the user's password can be unlocked in Active Directory (and presumably reset - I am at home now so do not have access to it), but my question was 'is the IP address available in Active Directory?'

Cheers for your help and time.

Steve