How Long Can a Server Be Serperated From A Domain

[blameGame]

I've had the following happen to me a couple times: there is a member server (NT or 2k) sitting in a box for a couple weeks, waiting to be shipped off site; when it reaches its destination and is powered on, its access to the domain (mixed-mode) is denied and it has to be removed and added back into the domain. There are domain controllers both here and in the field, and nothing has been done to the computer's account by an administrator. So my question is: how long can a member server be seperated from its domain before its account becomes out of date?

Thanks in advance.

 

[blameGame]

The computer object's password in the domain is changed every 30 days. If the account password expires and is changed while the machine is boxed up, its local password (a.k.a. local secret) no longer matchs up with the domain's. So the answer is, depends on how close you are to the password being changed by the Domain Controller.