The Active Directory Domain Service is currently unavailable

[Gotbier]

I am on a Vista laptop, connected by wireless to an XP-Home (SP4) desktop.
Connected to the desktop is a Canon printer.

Sorry. Start again.

I am on a Vista laptop, connected by wireless to an XP-Home (SP2) desktop,
which is connected to a Canon printer. The entire network is Cable Modem,
Wireless Router, Desktop and Printer (wired), Laptop (wireless).

There are three accounts on the laptop. All three are connected to the
internet via the wireless router. Two of them can print to the Canon printer,
but the third cannot.

I give that account Admin rights. I log on as that user. I select "Print"
from a Word document and the only "Printer" available is "Microsoft XPS
Document Write". I click "Find Printer", and I get the error message in the
subject line.

I compare this user's network connection settings to the other users. I
don't see any difference, but there are a lot of settings.

I go to Start/Network. I right-click on the Desktop and select Explore. I
right-click on SharedDocs and select Explore. I select "Desktop/Printers"
from the folder structure on the left, and the Canon printer and FAX appear
and say "Ready".

So it seems that the printer is visible to this user (as it is to the other
users), but this user can't print to it.

Ugh. Thanks. (And Thanks, Microsoft, for this support community thing.)

Did you try adding the printer using Administrator privs? Just go to the
Control Panel > Printers > Run As Administrator > Add Printer. This
process allowed me print on the network printer. Unfortunately, MS Word
will not work at all if the network printer is setup as the default and
was not added by the administrator.

[cinnamon]

I have been having the same problem and have spent hours on the phone with Microsoft Support. They finally closed it as 'unresolved'. I found this but don't see a 'Run As Administrator' option, just Control Panel >Printers>Add Printer.

I completely uninstalled the printer - using both the remove programs applet in the control panel, as well as manually deleting any files that related to it and removing any references in the registry through Regedit. Note that one of the solutions considered was to actually install the printer drivers, etc. locally even though I was accessing it on the Network.

I reinstalled on the Network only and still never found the 'Run As Administrator' option. Note that I AM the Administrator on this machine. How do I get to this?

Unfortunately Vista doesn't give a right-context menu for add a printer. Nor does it have the Admin available from Safe mode (insane).

I've done a bit more research regarding the Administrator account. Apparently Vista has it hidden, and the home Premium version (which, when I bought the computer, I was told was 'professional' level as in XP professional), doesn't have a local users and groups snap-in, so you can't even add it or activate it. I did find some forum threads and articles on how to create and activate the Admin account using the cmd console and editing the registry. I then accessed it and installed the printer through it - still didn't work.

If you haven't used Vista and you are a person who wants to control your own computer, then don't get it!! Microsoft believes that the only people using computers at home are just shopping and downloading pictures and porn! They must be protected from themselves (hmmm...sounds like the government)

I will continue my fight - or perhaps have to upgrade to Vista Business. Apparently I can't downgrade to XP, it's a tablet notebook and I have heard I would loose some functionality (touch screen, fingerprint scanner, etc.)

Well, here it is 2 months later, I have tried all of the suggestions above. I put the laptop away and haven't touched it for a while because it made me so frustrated. But now I'm trying again.

MS Word 2003 still won't print to the networked printer. The printer installs just fine, I've done the Run as Administrator, I've changed the printer share name, I've unhidden the Administrator account and installed from it. Word 2003 won't even print in the Administrator account. Interestingly, installing the printer in the Admin account didn't install it for my regular account - so I had to install it again on my regular account (using Run as Admin). Still no printing from Word 2003.

Part of the problem, I think, is that it takes a very long time for Vista to send to the printer over the network. Even my other programs take nearly a full minute to print to it (even when I've got the laptop in the same room as the network router and printer), but at least they do print to it. I wonder if I can change the time Word will wait for connecting to the printer in the registry?

I'm glad these solutions worked for everyone else, but they don't work for me. Any other ideas?

Go to *Control Panel | Printers* and right-click on *Add Printer*;
select -Run as Administrator-.

Having administrative-level privileges on your user account isn't the
same thing as using your administrator account - Administrator is a
separate user account. I haven't tried using that in Vista yet, but in
XP you log in in Safe Mode to access the Administrator account.

I have the same problem as yours.

First, I connect my computer by wireless. In my house we have 4
computers: 3 Mac and 1 Windows. The wireless network is from the Mac
computers.
When I go to *Start, Network, *I can see the Computer's name in which
the wireless come from. Then I want to use their printer that is a HP
PHOTOMASTER 2006 SERIES, but it ask me for password and user name, which
I have both, but it doesn't work. The other 3 computer that are Mac work
perfectly by the wireless and so they can print just while the main
computer is sharing it. The main computer is allow to share the printer
always.

Second, I also when I try to find printers from the Microsoft Word the
message in discussion of the forum comes out unallowing to find the
wireless printer.

I have to questions:

1. Do you think I can use the printer of this wireless that comes from
a Mac computer? How can I do it?

2. How can I eliminate the XPS Microsoft Office printer? I have tried
to unset it as a default but it doesn't work?

In adition, I don't know if I have to install the software of the HP
photosmart 2006 in my Windows computer first, then I could print by it
using the wireless.

Could someone help me, please? This is driving me crazy.

[Gotbier]

OMG!!! I have been on line and on the phone with Microsoft, HP and Toshiba for months, and NONE of them have been able to help me with this issue! This worked perfect, and, to top it off my husband who knows very little about computers, other surfing, is the one fixed it for me using your awesome instructions!! Thank you Thank you Thank you

I have a Vista computer networked to an XP computer that is physically connected to a Samsung printer. I have been printing fine for 8 months now. Suddenly I am getting this error message when I try to print from the Vista computer. The Vista computer sees the Samsung just fine. The Vista computer is able to connect to the XP computer and save a word document to the XP and then print. It just can no longer send an item to print across the network anymore. Like I said, it had been printing fine. How can I make the "Active Directory Domain Service" available again?

For Vista users, this is what I did. And after several sleepless night,
I can finally close my eyes. First of all you must know your base
station (I'm using Airport Express) *IP address*. You could either get
it from "Airport Utility" or for Window users right click on the
"Wireless Network Connection", click "Details". The IP address is there.

1. Go to "Network"
2. Click "Add a Printer"
3. Click "Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer"
4. If your desired printer doesn't appear, click "The printer that I
want isn't listed"
5. Click "Add a printer using TCP/IP address or hostname"
6. Key in the Hostname or IP address (I key in the IP add)
7. Click next
8. Select your printer driver or "have disk option"

This should solve the problem. Good luck ;)

I'm not sure my reply made it through as after I typed it, it took me to a
screen to enter my name again and then gave me a message about exceeding a
limit and to contact microsoft if I don't get an email allowing me in. So I
will try again just incase...

Thank you for replying. I have already tried that but it didn't change
anything.

[tomule]

Thanks squishedworm this works! You would think Microsoft would make it easier to link to your printer via your wireless network.
Thanks again

Hi, I was having trouble with the error message as well (i'm a mac person, and i would like to state that my mac work properly the first time). The solution that work for me was to go to control panel, then search for printer where i then changed the default printer. Fixed it right up. Though i find it intersting that "Pinters" is not an imidiate option under the control panel.

You are very welcome! It took me several hours to figure out what the
**** was going on. Although Vista has problems, I actually prefer it
over XP Professional now that I am using Vista Ultimate.

can you help me with the answer for correction

can you help me with the answer for correction.
cannot find the lexmark x75. what should I do?

I am trying to implement the fix mentioned above (adding a printer - in
my case a wireless Brother MFC-6490CW), but I get the following error
message:
::The printer installation failed. Operation could not be completed
(error 0x00000643).::

[Daniel D]

I've read this thread with great interest, and tried several of the fixes, to no avail.

I am running Vista Home and have been using a Cannon Pixma 800 (connected via USB) for the past several months. Vista seems to no longer recognize my printer. When I am logged in as the Administrator and check the printer options I am given 2 choices Mircosoft XPS document writer and Quicken PDF Printer. No Cannon printer.

When I try to print from something like Word, I get the same two printer options. When I instruct Word to "find a printer" I get the "active directory domain service unavailable" message.

Could this be a USB thing? When unplug the printer I get the windows "noise" that indicates something has been unplugged. I get the "noise" when I plug it back in, but no indication on the screen (text) that a printer/device has been plugged in.

A note on the admin privileges - I "uncovered" the admin user a few months ago. So I know that I am actually logged on as the administrator. This was a multi hour google process that ultimately allowed me to accept the EULA for Office 2003. As a rule of thumb I do not log on as the administrator.

Any thoughts and suggestions most welcome. Thanks

[alexi03]

I just bought a Vista PC,
Ok for all of you that are having problems connecting your computers to wireless printers, I have a solution for you.

In your start-up bar, on the left hand side look for Network....

Network > Network and Sharing Center > look under Sharing and Dicovery >go to Printer Sharing and turn it from OFF to ON, press apply and following it through.

Hope this helps.