Failover Cluster Step-by-Step Guide: Configuring Accounts in Active Directory

Steps for troubleshooting password problems with the cluster name account

Use this procedure if there is an event message about computer objects or about the cluster identity that includes the following text. Note that this text will be within the event message, not at the beginning of the event message:

Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password.

Event messages that fit the previous description indicate that the password for the cluster name account and the corresponding password stored by the clustering software no longer match.

For information about ensuring that cluster administrators have the correct permissions to perform the following procedure as needed, see Planning ahead for password resets and other account maintenance, earlier in this guide.

Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, is the minimum required to complete this procedure. In addition, your account must be given Reset password permission for the cluster name account (unless your account is a Domain Admins account or is the Creator Owner of the cluster name account). The account that was used by the person who installed the cluster can be used for this procedure. Review details about using the appropriate accounts and group memberships at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83477.

To troubleshoot password problems with the cluster name account

1. To open the failover cluster snap-in, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Failover Cluster Management. (If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.)
2. In the Failover Cluster Management snap-in, if the cluster you want to configure is not displayed, in the console tree, right-click Failover Cluster Management, click Manage a Cluster, and select or specify the cluster you want.
3. In the center pane, expand Cluster Core Resources.
4. Under Cluster Name, right-click the Name item, point to More Actions, and then click Repair Active Directory Object.