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Why can't I add a domain account to the local Administrator group on a Windows 2000 Pro workstation?

I am trying to add a domain account to the local Administrators group on a Windows 2000 Pro workstation. My network is Windows 2000 Server / Active Directory. On the workstation: Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Groups.

I open the Administrator group, and then press "Add..." In the Select Users or Groups dialog, I change the "Look in" value to my domain name. I see a whole list of domain users.

When I add any domain user by double clicking on the users in the list, an error is generated:

"Processing of object x failed with the following error: The specified domain either does not exist or could not be contacted."

What can I do to fix this?

Try adding the user from the command line using the following syntax: net localgroup administrators domaindomainuser /add. If that doesn't work, this error is usually the result of either (1) name resolution woes or (2) the workstation's computer account was not added to the domain correctly. Once you've ruled out name resolution as the culprit, try resetting the workstation's computer account password and dropping/re-adding it to the domain.

This was first published in August 2005

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