Can't login to my Windows PC and it's my fault

October 5, 2007 1:13 AM

I changed my office PC to use OpenDNS but now it hangs after entering my password.

I'm using the OpenDNS service on my home PC, and it's working so well I decided to try it on my office PC. However, it now hangs after I enter my password so it's essentially locked me out. It's part of a domain so I'm betting it now can't validate my username and password without access to the default DNS servers. How can I reset my connection to "Obtain DNS server address automatically" rather than using OpenDNS' nameservers?

posted by davcoo to computers & internet (5 comments total)

(Sorry for the wrong link to OpenDNS. Correct one = www.opendns.com)
posted by davcoo at 1:19 AM on October 5, 2007

How can I reset my connection to "Obtain DNS server address automatically" rather than using OpenDNS' nameservers?

Can you log into the computer using the administrator account rather than logging into the domain?
Failing that, can you log in using safe mode?

If you can get access using either of these methods, then you should be able to fix your DNS choices.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:55 AM on October 5, 2007

Try unplugging the network cable, and then logging in. You used to be able to log onto a PC using cached credentials, in case the domain server was down. (this happened a lot, back in the NT 4.0 days. :) )

If that doesn't work, you'll need to log into the Administrator account on the local computer, rather than the domain account. You will probably need IT's help if you don't know that password. Normally, there will be a dropdown box on the login window that shows where you're logging into; you'll need to change it from your domain to your local PC.
posted by Malor at 2:30 AM on October 5, 2007

Oh, and.... your IT staff was kind to give you administrative access over your local computer. You probably didn't realize this, but what you just did is kind of abusive of that privilege.

If you're having a problem you'd like to see solved, the first thing to do is to ask the IT guys about it. If you're not actually having a problem, then don't make random changes on your PC. The chances of you improving anything is very slight if you have a decent IT group, and the chances of messing something up is very high.
posted by Malor at 2:32 AM on October 5, 2007

I appreciate the suggestions. Connectivity has been restored.
posted by davcoo at 8:26 AM on October 5, 2007