Error: The format of the specified network name is invalid

When I go to connect a workstation to the network I right click on My
Computer on the workstation and then click 'computer name'. I then click the
'change' button. I add the domain name in the domain field and enter the
admin UN and PW, the response is an error that says "The following error
occured when trying to connect to a1asigns.local
The format of the network name is invalid"

Please help. It feels like I'm in hell today

Troy

 

Assuming this is XP or W2000 go to IE and go to
Http://servername/connectcomputer and logon as Administrator and run the
connectcomputer Wizard

 

It is Xp pro on the workstation and 2003 server on the server.
I tried to connectcomputer and it would not let me. I got the same error


-Troy

 

Hi Troy,

Which error did you get? Post the ipconfig/all from the server and one from
a client.

--
Regards,

Marina
Microsoft SBS-MVP
One of the Magical M&M's

 

OK....heres the server:

Microsoft Windows [Version 5.2.3790]
(C) Copyright 1985-2003 Microsoft Corp.


Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : A1ASERVER
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : a1asigns.local
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : a1asigns.local

Ethernet adapter Server Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-10-18-0D-B1-5A
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.2
Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.2
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

and the workstation:

C:\>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : WS4
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Linksys Wireless-B USB Network
Adapt
er v2.8 #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0C-41-5A-5E-B7
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.7
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.2

I don't know what I did wrong??????

Thanks,
Troy

C:\>

 

Are you certain that when you did your Install that you did not have a Space
anywhare in the Domain Name! At what point in connectcomputer did you get
the error, When you logged in or after you selected Computer name and users?

 

Hi Troy,

If you only have 1 nic in the server, NetBIOS over TCP/IP should be enabled.
DHCP is not configured right. It should have 006 and 044 pointing to the
server IP, 003 to the gateway IP, 015 to the local AD domain name and 046
should have 0x8 as value. Put the workstations to obtain an IP and DNS
automatic from the SBS DHCP server.

--
Regards,

Marina Roos
Microsoft SBS-MVP
One of the Magical M&M's
www.smallbizserver.net

 

Hi Frank,

There is no space in the domain name or the server name. All my workstations
are named WS1,2,3...

When I use connectcomputer I get stopped right after I 'enter a username
that has permission to join the domain'. Then The error I get is 'The list of
users and computers could not be found on the server. Make sure that the
Small Business Server network adapters are configured correctly'

I have the server running DNS and DHCP and switched over the workstations to
get automaticaly.

Still nothing. I get the same error as I did before.


-Troy Bishop

 

I did that and the error below occured:

When I try to run connectcomputer in IE I get the error:

'The list of users and computers could not be found on the server. Make sure
that the SBS network adapters are configured correctly'

 

First I would say that you would find it a lot easier to set up with two
NICs in server but with one NIC follow Marina's advice. At this point I
would remove all the computers from Server Management and add them back in
and try again.

 

Is there a hosts file on the workstations
(C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts) that has an entry for the
servername?

If so, remove it that entry in the hosts file.

Chris Puckett, MCSE
Microsoft Small Business Server Support


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