SQL Server 2008 Windows Auth Login Error: The login is from an untrusted domain

When attempting to connect to a SQL Server 2008 Instance using Management Studio, I get the following error:

Login failed. The login is from an untrusted domain and cannot be used with Windows authentication. (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 18452)

I can login using SQL Authentication without problem. I've been getting this error all of a sudden. I have Mixed Mode Authentication turned on.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Additional Info: 64-bit version of SQL Enterprise Edition On Windows 2003 Server

EDIT: The issue was caused by a down Active Directory Server, which of course could not authenticate the Windows account. Thank you for your assistance.

From stackoverflow

• try using a different valid login using RUNAS command

  runas /user:domain\user “C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE\ssmsee.exe” 
  
  runas /user:domain\user “C:\WINDOWS\system32\mmc.exe /s \”C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\80\Tools\BINN\SQL Server Enterprise Manager.MSC\”" 
  
  runas /user:domain\user isqlw
  

  jinsungy : I tried this with another windows account on the same domain, and got the same error.

  Gulzar : try to get the server and client event logs. i guess we need more details.

• Can you give us more details about the application that is connecting to SQL? Are you connecting from IIS? Connection pool? etc.

  Thanks

  jinsungy : I am using SQL Server Management Studio.. sry for the confusion.

• in order to enable windows authentication both computers need to be in the same domain. in order to allow managment studios to pass the current credentials and authenticate in the sql box

  jinsungy : both are in same domain

• Some info and troubleshooting info here from MS

• The issue was caused by a down Active Directory Server, which of course could not authenticate the Windows account. Thank you for your assistance.

• i have no database.i m working on asp.net 3.5 with vb.i want to use sqlserver 2008 database which is in another machine connected through LAN.What the procedure Plz?

• Another reason this might happen (just happened to me) ... is the user's password expires. I didn't realize this until I tried to remote into the actual server and was prompted to change my password.

• For me, it was because i did not add the account to have roles I wanted to use to the SQL Database itself. And also due to a bad password attempts via copy paste problem locking account.

• For me, I have to disconnect (change workgroup/domain) from the Domain and reconnect.

  vgv8 : Do you mean to connect using local account to remote SQL Server in workgroup? This will work only if Guest (or some other common) accounts with the same password are enabled both in SQL Server machine, connecting machine and in SQL Server itself as login.

  Prem : I mean disengage then re-engage with the domain group. Then retry logging in using Windows auth (Domain credentials) on remote MSSQL.

• "The issue was caused by a down Active Directory Server, which of course could not authenticate the Windows account"

  It is not "of course - because if AD is not available then Kerberos authentication falls back to NTLM (domain account credentials are cached locally, one can login with it even if AD/Kerberos is not available). I guess that you have possibly 2 simultaneous conditions for this failure to happen:

  • SQL Server is not local (on another machine)
  • The trust is configured "Kerberos only"

  or other specific security network/server/AD/machine configurations