Purpose
PDQ Deploy and / or PDQ Inventory report The account name is invalid or does not exist or The password is invalid for the account name specified.
Resolution
This is a native Windows service error that PDQ Deploy is relaying. This occurs when you use a domain account to run a Windows service and Windows is unable to validate the account with a Domain Controller.
When you run a Scan or Deployment, there is a temporary Runner Service that is created on the target computer to run the Scan / Deployment process. This service is created using the PDQ Deploy User or the PDQ Inventory Scan User account.
The PowerShell command below can be ran on the target computer, to determine if it can communicate with a Domain Controller.
Test-ComputerSecureChannel -Verbose
If the result is False, the target computer is unable to authenticate against a Domain Controller.
The following are the most common causes for this error:
- The target computer lost the trust relationship with the Domain.
- The netlogon service is not running on the target computer.
- Networking rules or policies preventing communication between the computer and DC.
If you're using an Azure AD account it will fail since the account can't be validated against a Domain Controller. Microsoft doesn't support running Windows services as Azure AD accounts. You will have to use either a local or an on-prem AD account.