Windows XP Professional Joining a Domain


You should have checked first your Network adapter, then you should verify / configure the
network setup
to make sure that your network is working properly.
Most probably you will use TCP/IP protocol with IP-address assignment via DHCP,
you should check that you got a proper IP-address (and that your XP system did not make
an Auto-IP-Configuration ).
Note : Windows XP Home Edition is NOT able to join a domain, but can access data on a Domain Server.
BEFORE joining the Domain (Windows NT / 2000 Domain server), make sure that you can
communicate with the domain server :

In the Control-Panel, select the
System icon:

(or right-click “My Computer” on the desktop
and select Properties)
Select the tab : “Computer Name”
First, make sure that your system
is configured as a workgroup,
using as name for the workgroup the
EXACT same name as the domain,
which you like to joing later.
Check in “My Network Places“:

that you can see the shared resources
on the Domain server
(in my example: on the system P120SVR).
You can also select to
View workgroup computers“,
and since your workgroup name
is the same as the domain-name,
you should now see all systems
in the domain.
note:
If you need to connect to a
Windows 2000 Active Directory
Domain server, which is configured
without NetBIOS over TCP/IP,
nothing will be shown here, in such
cases use in “My Network Places”
the “Search” to locate the Domain
server.


Once you have checked the connection to the server, you must logout and login, otherwise
you will get an error message :
“Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user name, are not allowed.
Disconnect all previous connections to the server or shared resource and try again”

Once you have communication to
the Domain server, and made a new
login, THEN go again to the
Control-Panel, select the System icon:

(or right-click “My Computer” on the desktop
and select Properties)
Select the tab : Computer Name
Select now to “Change
Select to be a “Member of … Domain“,
enter the name of your Domain
( NOT of the Domain Server ).
Click on OK.
If your network administrator
has already created the
Computer Account” on the
Windows NT4 or Windows 2000
Domain server, then you are done.
If the “Computer Account” does not
yet exist on the Domain server, then
you will be prompted for a Username
and password :
This is NOT any username defined
on your Windows XP system,
but a username defined on the Domain
server, which has the rights to add
systems to a Domain
(usually the Administrator).
You need to get this Welcome message :
Window : “Computer Name Changes” –
“Welcome to the ……. domain”
Since joining a domain is a major change in
the security configuration of your system,
you will be reminded that you have to restart
your system.
You will be back in the
“System Properties”, where you
are now listed as being part of a
domain.
you are again reminded to restart your
system, which you should do now.

These screen dumps have been made using :
“VMWARE Workstation 3.0” of VMWARE.
( more details on this very powerful program )

When now restarting the system or making a log-off, you get “Welcome to Windows “
(regardless of the style of Logon Windows was previously configured ) :

where you are informed to press AT THE SAME TIME the 3 keys Ctrl , Alt and Delete
to get the “Log On to Windows” :

If you see only the lines for Username and Password, you MUST select “Options > >” :

This will display the additional line : “Log on to: “, which allows you to select, whether you like
to log on to your local system ( using the User database defined on your own system
( this computer ) “) or whether you like to log on (selected from the drop-down arrow)
to the Domain-server, using the User database defined on the Domain-server (see the explanation
for NT4 Windows NT4 Workgroup versus Domain for some more details on the difference).

When selecting to “Log on to ” a Domain server, then the Username and password
need to be defined on the Domain server (they can be different ! ).


Once you a Logged on to the Domain, you have on YOUR system only the rights / permissions,
as they are defined on the Domain server, which is most office environments has now the effect,
that you have no more permissions to make any changes :

Example :
When now selecting the Control-Panel
the System icon:

tab: Computer name
you have not anymore the permission to
use “Change
If you need to make a change :
– Logon to the Domain as a user, which
has Permissions to make changes
(usually the Administrator )
or

– do NOT log-on to the Domain, but
log on to your local computer, using
a user name defined in the LOCAL
User database as Administrator.

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