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We just setup some new Windows 2008 R2 servers and we are unable to Remote Desktop into them from our Windows 7 desktops. Remote desktop connects, but after we provide credentials we get:

The connection cannot be completed because the remote computer that was reached is not the one you specified. This could be caused by an outdated entry in the DNS cache. Try using the IP address of the computer instead of the name.

If we connect from Windows 7 to a machine not running Windows 2008 R2, or from a machine not running Windows 7 to the Windows 2008 R2 server, it works fine. Likewise if we connect to the Windows 2008 R2 server from Windows 7 via the IP address then it works fine (although that causes other problems later).

I've only found one other mention of someone having this problem, so I don't think it is just our network.

Any suggestions on how to connect from Windows 7 to Windows 2008 R2 via DNS? Both are 64-bit.

Update: Turns out it does not need to be R2 to get the error. We have another server that is Windows 2008 R1 64-bit that also fails.

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  • Got one R2 server experiencing this after a reload as well. It has its hostname A record and reverse lookup correctly defined and there's a CNAME pointing to the FQDN that was previously used to address it. Now this throws this error and server, client and all DCs are in sync... getting annoying as there was no problem with the previous RC R2 install on that particular machine - and it has retained the same IP address... Mar 3, 2010 at 11:37

7 Answers 7

18

It appears this was at least partially related to the clock on the domain controller being off. Once the time was corrected then it worked.

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  • 4
    gotta love detailed error messages... Nov 8, 2012 at 21:22
  • I just had a similar situation; in my case the clock of the machine I was trying to connect to was wrong, and the Windows Time service was disabled for some reason. Mar 17, 2020 at 13:19
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Have you tried flushing the dns cache?

ipconfig /flushdns

Sounds like the problem lies somewhere in the DNS.

  1. Check normal name lookup through DNS.
  2. Check reverse DNS lookup on the IP address of the Windows 2008 R2 machine.
  3. Examine the DNS records created for the servers / windows 7 machines on the DNS server.
  4. Try disabling IP6 on both machines.

Reference this

Time and again we see the IPv6 stack operating under the hood, having a silent affect on applications. One area we have seen this is in DNS calls for application servers. Depending on the application and specific stack in use, the client may make DNS calls over IPv4 requesting the IPv6 address of application servers

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    In my case, the server IP address had changed, and the DNS on the DC was still holding the old value. Fix was to run ipconfig /registerdns on the problem server.
    – Neil P
    Oct 6, 2015 at 8:23
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Yes, make sure the time on the target server is accurate. It has to be within 5 minutes of the DC usually or servers and workstations start to act funny, though it should be exact. I corrected the time on my newly reformatted target server (2008 not R2) and immediately connected afterwards from my Win7 PC.

4

To fix this issue login to the affected server using IP address and run the following cmd,

  • net stop w32time
  • net start w32time

I believe this will fix the issue.

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This can happen if you use a certificate and the names don't match.

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  • You have not provided any substance to your answer. To answer you need to provide some workings to how to diagnose the issue and then provide a suggestions on how to resolve it. To improve the answer further you can provide references to support your workings. Nov 20, 2012 at 9:39
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The solution i had to fix this problem was..make sure you dont have the connection broker role installed on both servers. Even if you do, make sure that load balancing is only checking and working on ONE server. (Which is the connection broker)

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  • The answer would be improved by providing a reference to an official KB or further explaining why installation the connection broker on two servers causes the problem. Nov 5, 2012 at 9:07
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None of the suggested solutions worked for me. But this worked:

  1. On the target server you want to connect to with RDP, start DOS / cmd and:

    1. check the hostname:

      hostname

      For example, I've got: rdpserver.domain.com

    2. check the IP address:

      ipconfig

      For example, I've got: 10.11.1.31

    3. Verify that the DNS server resolves the IP address to the correct hostname:

      ping -a 10.11.1.31
      Ping wird ausgeführt für rdpserver [10.11.1.31] mit 32 Bytes Daten: …
      

      That's a perfect match.

  2. On the client computer you want to start the RDP-Connection to the server:

    1. Start DOS / cmd and and verify that the DNS server resolves the IP address to the correct hostname, too:

      ping -a 10.11.1.31
      Ping wird ausgeführt für rdpserver [10.11.1.31] mit 32 Bytes Daten: …
      

      That's a perfect match.

    2. Now make sure that you connect mstsc with exactly the same hostname, i.e.: rdpserver.domain.com

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