Can not login to Server or Clients

[Scizzot]

I have a situation that I have tried a few fixes on and as of yet I am unable to find a solution for. I have a Windows Server 2003 machine that is mainly used for file sharing on a small network (3 clients plus the server itself). When users login they authenticate to the server and thus have access to certain shared folders on it.

What has happened very recently is no one can login to there machines, and you can not login to the server itself. All machines get very similar messages.

Client Error: "The current time on this computer and the current time on the network are different. For more information about Date/Time Properties, see Help and Support. To log on, contact your system administrator"

Server Error: "The system can not log you on due to the following error: There is a time difference between the client and server. Please try again or consult your system administrator."

I can log into clients locally if I unplug them from the network. All clients have the same time on there machines.

As for the server, I am unable to login to it at all. All I could think of to do was login to the BIOS and make sure that the time there was set correctly, which it was not, it was 20mins out. I changed it to the correct time and rebooted, this did not fix the issue.

I have am continually searching the net for possible solution but keep turning up the same sort of answers which are unsuccessful. Has anybody had this issue before, or something similar and can offer some insight? I am on location for the next 2.5hrs and can try suggestions and give feedback. I am also here tomorrow.

Any help is much appreciated.

[TurboTuna]

You should be able to login to the server locally..with a keyboard and mouse. Login there, check the time/date.

that error message will only come up if you're time is out of sync. I've not seen it happen when its not been true.

[Scizzot]

Thanks for the reply.

I have tried this already though, that is when i receive the server error message I posted above.

[Cyber Nemesis]

The server is a DC then?

[Scizzot]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes it is. Sorry for not stating that before I meant to but forgot as I was typing.

[Joel]

Have you tried logging into the server in AD restore mode?

[Scizzot]

Thanks for the reply.

How do I go about logging in this way? Can you point me to an article about AD restore mode?

[+BudMan MVC]

  Scizzot said:

Can you point me to an article about AD restore mode?

And what google is broken on your computer as well as not being able to log in?

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http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc776568.aspx

Restart the domain controller in Directory Services Restore Mode locally

Updated: June 8, 2005

If you have physical access to a domain controller, you can restart the domain controller in Directory Services Restore Mode locally. Restarting in Directory Services Restore Mode takes the domain controller offline. In this mode, the server is not functioning as a domain controller.

When you start Windows Server 2003 in Directory Services Restore Mode, the local Administrator account is authenticated by the local Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database. Therefore, logging on requires that you use the local administrator password, not an Active Directory domain password. This password is set during Active Directory installation when you provide the password for Directory Services Restore Mode.

Administrative credentials

To perform this procedure, you must provide the Administrator password for Directory Services Restore Mode.

To restart the domain controller in Directory Services Restore Mode locally

1. Restart the domain controller.

2. When the screen for selecting an operating system appears, press F8.

3. On the Windows Advanced Options menu, select Directory Services Restore Mode.

4. When you are prompted, log on as the local administrator.

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Do you recall what password you set???

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc779687.aspx

Restart the domain controller in Directory Services Restore Mode Remotely

[Scizzot]

Thanks everybody for your help. I was able to log in this way and change the Date/Time settings. The time was correct, the month was correct, but the year was set to 2080. How could this have changed when no one has been on this computer in at least a month or so? It kind of confuses me.

Thanks again for your help.