LDAP Bind failure / GroupPolicy 1006 / ErrorCode 81 (on one workstation only)

Question

Multiple domain accounts on this same workstation yield the same error; those same accounts on other workstations sail through with no problems.

It's occurring intermittently: roughly about 9 out of 10 queries fail, but rarely (with decreasing frequency of late) sometimes one goes through right away. Otherwise, sometimes it does work but can take on the order of ten to thirty minutes to get a reply.

It's pretty plain that it's a client-side problem. Win8.0=>WSE2012

Here's the System Event Log XML:

<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-GroupPolicy" Guid="{AEA1B4FA-97D1-45F2-A64C-4D69FFFD92C9}" /> 
    <EventID>1006</EventID> 
    <Version>0</Version> 
    <Level>2</Level> 
    <Task>0</Task> 
    <Opcode>1</Opcode> 
    <Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords> 
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2015-03-21T22:47:59.416177300Z" /> 
    <EventRecordID>97988</EventRecordID> 
    <Correlation ActivityID="{AB4A4C93-02DE-486F-A27C-715DE5C01BC3}" /> 
    <Execution ProcessID="956" ThreadID="5172" /> 
    <Channel>System</Channel> 
    <Computer>FACILITY1.OIT.local</Computer> 
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-18" /> 
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data Name="SupportInfo1">1</Data> 
    <Data Name="SupportInfo2">5740</Data> 
    <Data Name="ProcessingMode">0</Data> 
    <Data Name="ProcessingTimeInMilliseconds">278547</Data> 
    <Data Name="ErrorCode">81</Data> 
    <Data Name="ErrorDescription">Server Down</Data> 
    <Data Name="DCName" /> 
  </EventData>
</Event>

How to begin troubleshooting/fixing this? Google isn't turning up much; I'm a part-time Reluctant SysAdmin who knows what the acronym LDAP stands for, but not much more than that.

First, you didn't specify exactly what was the problem. Who's doing the query? why is it necessary? what happens when it fails? Anyway, quickest (and probably the best) option is to reinstall the OS of the problematic computer. Who can tell what this computer has been through? — EliadTech, Mar 22 '15 at 08:20
The ErrorDescription "Server Down" implies a connectivity problem. I would look at TCP/IP, DNS, bad HOSTs file, WIFI vs wired connection, etc. Can the server be pinged by both name and IP, nslookup results. I would guess there are other relevant event logs also. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/299357 — Ed Fries, Mar 22 '15 at 17:14
@EliadTech: It's the drive mapping section of the signin script; it hangs on the second line here `Set oAdSysInfo = CreateObject("ADSystemInfo")` `Set oUser = GetObject("LDAP://" & oAdSysInfo.UserName)`. I use this construct to determine at runtime which groups the user is a member of and consequently which drive letters he gets. When it fails the drives don't get mapped (or all of them map whether he's in the group or not, depending on the context). I may end up doing a reset, if it's not going to be an 'easy-if-you-know-how' troubleshoot and fix. — InteXX, Mar 22 '15 at 20:34
@EdFries: Thanks, your reminder to perform the standard troubleshooting steps (ping, etc.) got me started in the right direction. See my answer. +1 — InteXX, Mar 22 '15 at 20:56

InteXX · Accepted Answer · 2015-03-22T21:09:56.550

OK, got it.

We're using Hamachi for our VPN and it was conflicting with our DNS. Hat tip to @EdFries; when I pinged the server it resolved to the Hamachi-supplied IP and not our internal LAN IP (Hamachi does this to avoid internal IP conflicts).

In this case, however, the faux IP was causing trouble. Hamachi has a configuration setting Disable members going online in the host network, which when turned on disables the VPN client when the machine is on the LAN. I turned on the setting and the script pushed right on through.

The reason it only showed on this computer is that it's our only laptop that's mobile and also joined to the domain; other laptops that leave the building aren't joined and so don't need drive mapping. The common denominator escaped me at first, but Ed's comment got me sniffing down the right path.

Thanks Ed!

LDAP Bind failure / GroupPolicy 1006 / ErrorCode 81 (on one workstation only)

1 Answers1