Troubleshooting Guide: DNS Name Resolution Failure When Joining a Domain Controller

Is your goal to connect a client to a domain? After the error message, a pop-up asking for authentication appears: An attempt was made to resolve the DNS name of a domain controller in the domain being joined, but it was unsuccessful. Check that the DNS server this client is pointing to is capable of resolving DNS names within the target domain. To learn how to troubleshoot a network, see Windows Help.

Solution:

There is only one easy step to correct this problem. You only need to manually configure the DNS server on the client PC that you are attempting to connect to the domain on. You could take the following actions:

• Select Network and Sharing Center from the Control Panel. You can also right-click the network status icon in the system tray (bottom-right of the screen, near the volume controls).
• On the left pane, click Change adapter settings.
• Select Properties from the right-click menu of the Internet connection you want to change DNS servers for.
• Click the Properties button for Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP / IPv4).

• Enter the DNS server addresses of your choice by clicking the button next to Use the following DNS server addresses: Once you’re done, click OK.

Use that IP address if you are unsure which DNS server to enter because most of the time Domain Controllers also host the DNS server.

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