If I stop NIS client (e.g. due to a run level change), then unscd is not triggered to forget user information. I stumbled about this when I tried to create a local user on a laptop. I had stopped NIS and umounted nfs:/home. adduser told me that the UID is still in use. After stopping unscd adduser did not complain anymore. Platform is squeeze. Please reassign, if necessary. Regards Harri