Fix: Security database on the server does not have a computer

This specific error appears when a user attempts to log in to a domain. This can be quite problematic because there doesn’t seem to be a way to circumvent this. The error appeared on various versions of Windows OS but it appears most commonly on Windows 10.

We have found out about some successful methods used to resolve the problem and we decided to put them together in an article. Make sure you follow the solutions we have prepared in order to successfully resolve the problem!

What Causes “The Security Database on the Server does not have a Computer Account for this Workstation Trust Relationship” Error on Windows?

The list of possible causes for this problem is not so long but it will contain pretty much everything you need to know about the possible causes. Check it out below in order to simplify the path to resolving the problem:

Solution 1: Check Time & Date Settings on the Client PC

Improper time and date on your computer are not recommended and it’s not a thing anyone should do on purpose. However, some users restart their BIOS or perform some changes which alter time and date and they forget to set it up properly again. This alone is enough to cause the issue so make sure you check to see if everything is okay.

1. Open Date and Time settings on your computer by opening the Start menu, and opening the Settings app by clicking the gear icon above the Start menu button and the Power icon, choosing the Time & language option, and navigating to Date & time.

2. In the Date and Time tab, make sure that your computer’s date and time settings are aligned with the location you are currently in. If the time is not correct, you can try turning the Set time automatically option on or off depending on previous settings.
3. If the “Set time automatically” option is now off, choose the correct time zone from the dropdown list in order to finish the process. After you have finished, restart your computer and try opening connecting to the domain again.

Alternative: If this doesn’t work out for you or if you are using a version of Windows older than Windows 10, you can also use Control Panel to synchronize with an online time server to always have correct settings.

1. Open Control Panel by searching for it in the Start menu or by using the Windows Key + R key combination, typing “control.exe” in the Run box, and clicking OK.
2. In Control Panel, select to View as: Category at the top right corner and click on the Clock and Region button to open this section.

3. Click on Set the time and date button under Date and Time in the Clock and Region section and navigate to the Internet Time tab immediately. Click the Change settings button.
4. Check the box next to the “Synchronize with an Internet time server” option and choose the “time.windows.com” server before clicking on Update.

5. Click the OK button to apply the changes and try connecting to the domain to see if the “The Security Database on the Server does not have a Computer Account for this Workstation Trust” Error still appears.

Solution 2: Checking for DNS and Firewall Issues

If there are problems regarding your actual connection to the server, you might need to check for DNS or Windows Firewall conflicts. They often cause networking problems and you should definitely try following the steps below in order to set some Windows Firewall rules and reset DNS addresses.

1. Search for “Command Prompt” by typing it right in the Start menu or by pressing the search button right next to it. Right-click the first entry which will pop up as a search result and select the “Run as administrator” option from the context menu.
2. Additionally, you can also use the Windows Logo Key + R key combination in order to bring up the Run dialog box. Type in “cmd” in the dialog box which appears and use the Ctrl + Shift + Enter key combination for administrative Command Prompt.

3. Type in the following commands in the window and make sure you press Enter after typing out each one. Wait for the “Operation completed successfully” message or something similar to know that the method worked.

netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="network discovery" new enable=yes
ipconfig/flushdns
ipconfig /registerdns

4. Try to reset the connection and check to see if the error still appears!

Solution 3: Restart the Connection

Sometimes the problem appears when the connection of the computer with the domain server goes into an error state and it needs to be restarted. This can also be done on the client computer quite easily by switching the connection from domain to workgroup and vice versa. Follow the steps below in order to perform these steps!

1. Right-click either on My Computer/This PC depending on the version of Windows you have installed on your computer and choose the Properties
2. After that, locate the Change settings button at the left side of the Properties window, under Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings, and click on it.

3. In the Computer Name tab of System Properties, click the Change button at the bottom right part of the window. Under the Member of area, change the radio button from Domain to Workgroup and make sure you apply the changes.

4. Restart your computer and navigate back to the same area and undo the changes by switching back to Domain. Try logging in again and check to see if the same problem still appears.

Solution 4: Use PowerShell Commands

If the methods above have failed to help, you might want to try out a couple of simple PowerShell commands which can be used to login into the domain. These commands don’t always work but they managed to resolve the problem completely for some users, making them worthy of making it into the article.

1. Open the PowerShell utility by right-clicking the Start menu button and clicking the Windows PowerShell (Admin) option at the context menu.

2. If you see Command Prompt instead of PowerShell at that spot, you can also search for it in the Start menu or the search bar next to it. This time, make sure you right-click on the first result and choose Run as administrator.
3. In the PowerShell console, type in the commands shown below and make sure you click Enter after typing out each one. Make sure you place your server’s information in the right places instead of our placeholders.

$cred = Get-Credential (enter your domain credentials)
reset-ComputerMachinePassword -Credential $cred -server (your ad server here)

4. Let this command do its thing and you should be prompted to enter the password again and hopefully, you will be able to log in without problems!