Setting up clients...

[nokona13]

I have a client computer I'm trying to add to my win2k server network (win2k backoffice server to linksys switch to clients - internet through separate dial-up arrrrgh!). The users on the network are all barely functional with the computer (developing country), and I'm barely functional as an admin. So this user has been using the computer as the local admin. There is a user account and a NAME.OLD_DOMAIN style user account set up (from some previous "admin" type), though these aren't used. The configuration of the current desktop appears to me to be split between the "All Users" description and the "Administrator" description. I can't really figure it out. Anyway, I connected the computer to the domain, but now when I try to access the server machine (or anything having to do with the network really), I get a message basically saying you have no username/password, please provide one which you will use to access the network. This isn't suprising since I'm not signed on to the domain, just the local computer. In the Server Console there is a user account set up for this user. How do I set up the client computer (win2k pro) to sign onto the Domain instead of the local computer, and then have this Name.DOMAIN user account appear and act EXACTLY like their machine does now (with the network stuff added, of course) being used as the local Admin? I've tried wiping out user accounts, then copying saved desktop/my docs/startup folders back into a new account before but it never quite behaves the same, and these users can't handle changes like this.

Sorry for the length, thought I'd save the two clarification posts (or maybe not).

Thanks!

 

[MattWray]

Join the machine to the Domain. Right-click My Computer and choose properties. Network Identification and properties. Make the appropriate changes. Reboot.
Once you have joined, logon as the user in question and log back off. Log on as Admin and right-click My Computer, properties. User Profiles, highlight the "old" profile, user.machine or just user, and click copy to. Browse into Docs and Settings and highlight username.Domain and click OK. This should copy the old profile over to your new one...

Thanks,

Matt Wray
MCSE, MCSA, MCP, CCNA

http://www.sss-steel.com

 

[nokona13]

Okay, so I've been trying variations on this, so at least I think I'm going in the right direction. BUT, I can join the computer to the domain. I have since rebooted. I joined the domain with: system->network id->properties->
more, change primary dns suffix). Neither before I rebooted or since, however, have I been able to go to My Computer->properties->network id->properties and switch the computer from Workgroup: LOCAL_MACHINE_NAME to Domain: DOMAIN. When I enter in my domain name, MY_ORG.com, it says that domain cannot be found. The client is connected through the switch to my 2k server machine which is the domain controller. Why can't it find the domain? I have one other computer that was set up by someone else that is a member of the domain, and not he local machine workgroup, so I know it's there somewhere. The offending machine can still see the server machine and public folders and all (though it needs a password).

Any ideas?

Thanks alot!!

 

[frkb]

My first guess is that you have a DNS problem. Go to a command prompt on your workstation and type "ipconfig /all". The primary DNS server entry should be your domain controller. If not, that may be your problem.

Your domain controller should act as your DHCP server & DNS server. As a DHCP server it would include its own address as the DNS server when issuing IP addresses. Of course, I'm also assuming DNS is properly configured.

Hope that helps some.

 

[MattWray]

Verify that you can PING your DC both by name and IP...

Thanks,

Matt Wray
MCSE, MCSA, MCP, CCNA

http://www.sss-steel.com

 

[nokona13]

thanks for the help everyone! Now I have one client that correctly has my DC as the DNS server, can ping everything, use the mspclnt software to access the internet through the DC, etc... I recently tried to set up my second client the same way. It used to work more than it does now, oddly. I used to be able to see the server computer, and even use mspclnt to get to the internet, though it never let me switch to being a "Member Of:" domain instead of workgroup. Now, however, I can't see anything. When I do ipconfig /all, the only evidence I get that I ever joined the domain is that the primary DNS suffix is mydomain.com. Nothing is listed for pretty much everything else. What went wrong? How do I properly configure DNS from the client side. The original setup of the server computer was done by someone else who is more knowledgable than me, and since the one client works perfectly, I'm tempted to believe DNS has been configured okay on the server machine. How would I check this?

Thanks for the help!!

 

[minxca]

Hi,
I don't really understand your network connection. How does the client connect to your network? with VPN?

 

[nokona13]

okay, I was a little off. For some reason, whoever set up the computer gave you the choice to boot into win2k or win2k pro. I of course booted into win2k pro when I was working on the computer, but now it turns out that the user boots into plain win2k. So in the win2k pro boot, everything works perfectly. In the plain win2k boot, nothing works, except it already has "joined" mydomain.com, so I don't know how to get it to "really" join the domain.

 

[nokona13]

Just win2k server to linksys switch to clients. Server is DC and DNS, DHCP, and ISA server. Both clients are win2k (with the pro, standard issue I explained above). I need to add some XP clients later, but I haven't tried that yet.

 

[MattWray]

There is no Win2k pro or standard. There is only Windows 2000 professional, server, advanced server, or datacenter server. Not too sure what is going on...

Thanks,

Matt Wray
MCSE, MCSA, MCP, CCNA

http://www.sss-steel.com

 

[minxca]

If you have multiboot, just edit the boot.ini
Choose the one that you want as the default and change the time to 0 so users can't see another OS.