Dear Jermal, here is some info that you may find useful in the future. I hope that you share with your friends, coworkers and the readers of your blog.
From time to time I have found myself having to reset the computer account of a workstation that was left offline. In most cases this workstation was a virtual machine with a computer password that expired. A clear sign of this is the message “The trust relationship between this workstation and the primary domain failed.”
This can be fixed by classic steps of removing the computer from the domain and then joining it back. You could also attempt to log into active directory users and computers and reset the computer object; I haven’t had much success with this. Perhaps I’m to impatient to wait for replication.
Another method is to use PowerShell and the Test-ComputerSecureChannel method.
By loading up PowerShell (as Administrator) you can run the Test-ComputerSecureChannel cmdlet (pronounced “command-let”). Running this command on a working machine will return the value of “True”
If the Test-ComputerSecureChannel cmdlet returns False, use the Repair switch to repair the secure channel. That command will look like this: “Test-ComputerSecureChannel “
I hope this helps,
Sincerely,
Jermal
P.S. – You will need to be logged in under a cached Administrator account on the computer; To do this you just remove yourself from the network and log in under your credentials.