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Quick Fix If Primary Domain Relationship Fails in Windows 7

OK! So you go to your Windows 7 machine and find that there is a problem which requires you to select the Repair option. After the usual wait, it reboots and presents the login screen after your three finger salute. You attempt to log on when you are presented with the message:

Trust Relationship Between This Workstation And The Primary Domain Failed

A possible cause of this problem is that Windows computers change their internal password every 30 days, and if you have had cause to roll back to a restore point before the last password change, then the local password and the domain password do not match. In this event the computer must re-join the domain. If you not a domain Administrator then you should contact your domain administrator to have the computer’s domain account re-created or re-enabled, as appropriate.

If you are a domain admin and there is a local account on the computer that you can use (it does not have to be an administrator), then there is a quick fix:

  • Log on to the local account
  • Right click on Computer and click Properties
  • Click on Change Settings, next to Computer name
  • Click on Change next to rename the computer or change its domain or workgroup
  • At the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialogue, check the Workgroup radio button and enter anything into the Workgroup textbox
  • Acknowledge the warning about rebooting
  • When back at the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialogue, check the Domain radio button and enter the domain short-name.
  • When prompted enter the domain credentials, then OK your way back to the System Properties page at which point you will be given the opportunity to reboot.
  • After rebooting enter the normal domain name which you would normally use, and Bingo! You are back in business.

There is a Microsoft Support article which refers to a slightly different way to generate this error message, which can be found under Article ID: 976494 – Error 1789 when you use the LookupAccountName function on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. If the quick fix does not work for you, you can check out the article by clicking here

Hopefully the repair fixed your problem and as you are back in the domain, you will not see the message “Trust Relationship Between This Workstation And The Primary Domain Failed” for a while