Hi The organization I work for has recently deployed Sharepoint 2007 many employees are warming up to the idea. Some users can't access the site. When I type the URL to the site and go to the address, I get the following error message and I am not asked for my user name and password. Unable to determine IP address from host name for tri-sps.triangle.co.zw The dnsserver returned Name Error: The domain name does not exist The Cache was not able to resolve the hostname presented in the URL. Check if the address is correct The address I am typing is definitely correct, and I am able to access Sharepoint from some of the machines on the network. The Active Directory user accounts for the users who are failing to access Sharepoint are fully functional. e.g When I attempt log on to Sharepoint using the problem computer using user account x, it fails. When I use user account x on a computer that has had no problem with accessing Sharepoint, I am able to log on with no problem. Please help me as I am baffled as to what the problem is. Is there something I meant to do on Active Directory?

It looks to me as if this isn't a SharePoint problem at all but something to do with your DNS server. The message is indicating that the "system" can't convert to an address of type 1nn.nn.nn.nn which is a DNS issue. I would start by looking at where the DNS server is located and if it is accessible from all parts of the network. ------ A quick solution is naturally to find the TCP/IP address and then amend the hosts file in peoples' clients by adding tri-sps.triangle.co.zw 1nn.nn.nn.nn FAQ sites: (SP 2010) http://wssv4faq.mindsharp.com; (v3) http://wssv3faq.mindsharp.com and (WSS 2.0) http://wssv2faq.mindsharp.com Complete Book Lists (incl. foreign language) on each site.

Hi I am new with Admin work and I ain't sure how to go about this. I have been able to find the Hosts file in c:\windows\System32\drivers\etc and I have added tri-sps.triangle.co.zw 172.16.10.223 to the host file and saved. This has not brought about any changes. Is this how I am supposed to go about this? How do you check whether the DNS server is accessible from that part of the network? I know this does seem a bit lame, but you are my only hope and I need your help. Thanks

To check if the host machine is able to connect to a proper DNS server a quick & easy way would be going using Nslookup Go to Command prompt on the problematic machine & Type nslookup and press enter It should show you your DNS Server Name if it fails check the DNS IP in Network Properties If it shows ip and machine name tri-sps.triangle.co.zw and press enter check the output and the also the IP for tri-sps.triangle.co.zw is correct. Let us know the output and is the ip matching your SharePoint server, but before doing that make sure that the HOST name does not have any binding for tri-sps.triangle.co.zw server. - Mukesh

Hi there Mike is correct, this doesn't sound like SharePoint specifically because you said some users can and some users can't access it and because you are receiving 'The dnsserver returned Name Error: The domain name does not exist' This means that the machines that cannot connect to SharePoint can't get to the DNS server which hosts the CNAME tri-sps.triangle.co.zw You will need to find out what the DNS Server is on the local machine where it works and ensure this is applied to the machine it is not working on. Placing the tri-sps.triangle.co.zw in the hosts file on the server means that you need to ipconfig /flushdns to ensure that the IP is cached. Additionally, after making this change you should NSLOOKUP tri-sps.triangle.co.zw from a command prompt to find out where it resolves to - it should indicate the DNS server and then the machine where tri-sps.triangle.co.zw is hosted (or if there is more than one Web Front end then more IPs). Once you have the DNS entries ensure they are entered correctly on the machines where they are failing to work. Please note. This is a large area to start delving into - you must (a) identify that your host name is resolving via a DNS server and/or ensure that the IP defined on all the boxes for tri-sps.triangle.co.zw resolves to the correct machine on which it is hosted. Do not enter the hostname into the HOSTS file if you have DNS because if the IP changes it will break the connection again. Hope this helps Geoff

Hi I copied the address of the DNS server from a machine where Sharepoint is working , and still the problem persists. When I conducted a nslookup on the problematic machine with the amended DNS address I got an error message stating that the computer could not find the server name for address 172.16.10.220. Non existent Domain. Default servers not availiable. I am now sure that I am using the correct DNS server, and even went to the extent of flushing the DNS cache hoping this might just work. All these users have new computers, and have active directory accounts. What could be the problem? Could it be an Active Directory problem? Best Regards

Hi As said this is not a SharePoint issue and I must admit you may be better suited to resolving this issue in the Infrastructure forum say here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/winserverNIS/threads However, as I understand from your last reply you said you copied the DNS server IP from another machine where the users can connect, and tried an NSLOOKUP from a machine that doesn't work to the DNS Server IP address you copied, and that failed with non existent domain errors. That effectively rules out AD If that is the case the machine having the problem is not correctly setup on your network. Have you confirmed that the IP settings on the machine that does not work conforms to the settings applied on machines that do? Have you run IPCONFIG / ALL on the machines that dont work and confirmed the DNS entries matches the ones that work? Is the machine correctly connected to your domain? Cheers Geoff