I have a script which uses psexec to check a few things on new servers. I ran the script and received the following message.
Couldn’t access *hosta*:
The handle is invalid.
Could not start PsExec service on *hosta*:
Access is denied.
Starting PsExec service on *hosta*…
Rather an odd message because another server with the same configuration didn’t have a problem. I checked a few things but did not find anything obvious. Server pings, remote desktop works, etc., etc…..
From the other box I tried to see if I could remote access the C drive via \\hosta\C$ and received this error:
\\hosta\C$
Logon Failure: The target account name is incorrect
The AD account looked ok but when I checked the host; I found a typo. Instead of *hosta* there was *hosa* (obviously not the real name but you get the idea).
I deleted the domain account and simply renamed the server. The domain prompted for an admin level account to do this and rebooted.
Don’t forget to move the host to the proper AD group if you use them.
Moral of the story: DNS/AD is both a friend and enemy. DNS pointed to the correct server but simple things would not work while other things like remote desktop did. Well? Only because a previous problem prompted for a change in the negotiation level of RD.
It’s funny but I look back to my first AD design course and I remember the teacher repeating most AD problems are DNS related.
techdork 