Windows XP Professional: The Missing Manual

Joining a Domain

If you work in a corporation, the computer supplied to you generally has Windows XP already installed and joined to the domain, ready to go.

But if you ever have occasion to add a PC to a domain yourself, here’s how you go about it. (You can make your PC join a domain either during the installation of Windows XP Pro, or any time afterward.)

1. Log on using the local Administrator account.

   See Section 17.4.1 for details.

2. Choose Start → Control Panel → System. In the resulting dialog box, click the Computer Name tab (see Figure 19-1).

   

   Figure 19-1. The Computer Name tab of the System control panel displays the name of your computer and the workgroup or domain of which it is currently a member. From here, you can change the computer or workgroup name or join a new domain. The Network ID button launches a Network Identification Wizard, while the Change button displays a dialog box in which a more experienced person can perform the same tasks.

   You should now be able to see the names of your computer and any workgroup or domain it belongs to.

3. Click the Network ID button.

   The Network Identification Wizard appears.

4. Click Next to bypass the Welcome screen.

   The Connecting To The Network screen appears.

5. Click “This computer is part of a business network,” and then click Next.

   Now the wizard wants to know: “What kind of network do you use?”

6. Click “My company uses a network with a ...