Our Active Directory WinXP SP2 workstations are taking about 5 minutes to
Apply Settings and load. The DNS Server is running Win2000 SP4. DNS Server
is pointing to itself in NIC. Network triaffic is good. Does anyone have
any suggestions.
--
Mark Hughes

"MarkH" <MarkH@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E5AE5696-A6F4-4D01-A18A-364A6E4677E4@microsoft.com...
> Our Active Directory WinXP SP2 workstations are taking about 5 minutes to
> Apply Settings and load. The DNS Server is running Win2000 SP4. DNS
> Server
> is pointing to itself in NIC. Network triaffic is good. Does anyone have
> any suggestions.

Isolate the actual cause(s) of the problem. Figure out WHERE the time is
being spent.

First run a full DCDiag on every DC and make sure there are no
FAIL or WARN messages (fix any you find) to ensure the basic
health of your DCs, replication, and their DNS registration.

Make sure every DNS client (this includes DCs and DNS Servers) are poinint
STRICTLY to the internal DNS server(s) which can resolve ALL the addresses
they will (ever) need.

There are many places clients can be slow once the basics (above) are
covered.

Look first at things like these:

Long batch files in Computer startup or User Logon scripts.
Large file copies for Roaming user profiles
Problems with authentication or name resolution (but those
should be covered by the checks above or we would make
this item #1)
Offline File Caching
Slow network startup (especially Wireless cards) that then delay
everything else about the startup

If (fairly) quick checks of the above don't indicate the problem then
you might profitably put a Network Monitor (the new/free NetMon
3.1 is pretty nice but takes a few minutes to learn to use) on the line
and WATCH what the clients are doing.

Watch not just for excessive traffic but for WHAT they are doing,
for timeouts, and for retries on things that should be working right
away.

Also note that you haven't told us what "slow" to load means, nor
even really if you mean Computer STARTUP or User LOGON
when you say "load".

--
Herb Martin, MCSE, MVP
http://www.LearnQuick.Com (phone on web site)

If you use LinkedIn then tell me where you know me from when linking:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/herbmartin

> --
> Mark Hughes