SQL Server Magazine

When you think about logons, you think about users and maybe all the complications that can accompany the logon process. Password failures, authentication failures, and other problems frequently cause headaches for administrators.

Computers in a Windows network also have a logon process. Like user logons, computer logons can run into trouble. You need to understand the computer logon process in case you encounter a problem or if you plan to take the Windows 2000 MCSE certification tests. Test your computer logon knowledge with the following quiz. (Answers appear on page 28.)

1. When a workstation on a Win2K or Windows NT 4.0 domain boots, it establishes a connection with a domain controller before the user logon dialog box appears. The connection process involves a password. Which of the following statements about that connection is false?
   1. The connection is a secure channel.
   2. The password that the computers exchange has an expiration date, and a user with administrative permissions must change the password at specific intervals.
   3. The relationship between the two computers is the same as a trust relationship.
2. A failed password exchange causes a failed connection between a workstation and a domain controller. Which of the following remedies works?
   1. At the domain controller, remove the computer from the domain, then add the computer back to the domain. Restart the workstation.
   2. Use the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in (or Server Manager, depending on the OS), select Properties for the workstation, then choose Change Machine Passwords.
   3. Log on locally and run the command net use DriveLetter: \\ServerNameSysvolShareName to force the connection.
3. As the computer searches for a domain controller during startup, several events occur. In the following statements, I mention three processes that run during startup. Which of the statements presents the correct order of those processes?
   1. The OS sends the computer password to the domain controller, then applies computer-based Group Policies. The Logon to Windows dialog box appears next.
   2. The OS applies computer-based Group Policies, then sends the computer password to the domain controller. The Logon to Windows dialog box appears next.
   3. The OS sends the computer password to the domain controller, then the Logon to Windows dialog box appears. The OS then applies the computer-based Group Policies.

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