Increase Domain Logon Timeout over Network

ID: Q163204

The information in this article applies to:

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you log on to a Domain, you may receive the following error message:

Logon Message
A domain controller for your domain could not be contacted. You have been logged on using cached account information. Changes made to your profile since you last logged on may not be available.


RESOLUTION

To increase the amount of time Netlogon waits before timing out during an interactive logon using a Domain User account, the following registry setting can be used. This registry parameter can be added on a Windows NT 3.51 Service Pack 5 or Windows NT 4.0 Member Workstation or Server computer.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serous problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To edit the registry parameter, perform the following steps:

  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and go to the following subkey:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netlogon\Parameters


  2. From the Edit menu, click Add Value?


    3. Value Name: ExpectedDialupDelay
    Data Type: Reg_Dword
    Data Value is in seconds.
    Min Value: 0
    Max Value: 600 in decimal.
Note: This value can also be used to increase the delay for switched Ethernet networks.


MORE INFORMATION

The usage of this parameter as outlined above is not using secure channel traffic. For further information that discusses this parameter and its affect on Secure Channel communication, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q151259
TITLE : New Netlogon Registry Entry for Dialup Routers

ARTICLE-ID: Q154355
TITLE : How to Tune Trusts for Dialup Routers in a WAN

ARTICLE-ID: Q152719
TITLE : WAN and Trust: Traffic on the Wire

Additional query words: credentials interactive log on SAM UAS 


Keywords          : kbnetwork ntdomain NTSrvWkst 
Version           : WinNT:3.5,3.51,4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        :

Last Reviewed: February 5, 1999