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How to prepare new pc for domain?

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  • Domain
  • Business Computing
  • Software
Last response: in Business Computing
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March 22, 2014 4:50:54 PM

Hello,
I am in the planning phase and will soon be deploying a windows server essentials server.
I have no previous hands on experience with domains, though I understand what they are and their advantages.

In a business environment where users have their accounts on the server AD, how do you prepare a new windows 7 machine to join a domain?

We are a small company, so windows 7 installation is pretty much manual. Also, because every user has a different job title, every user uses a different set of software.

So what is the correct procedure?
- install W7
- with the install completed, there will be 2 local users: admin + the one created during the installation
- install "core" software (ie software everyone needs/uses)
- join pc to domain
- install user-specific software logged in as user (is that a good way of doing things? This means users could install anything, which is somewhat risky?)

The software we use and have are normal exe installs, not msi, so they can't be pushed to users via GPO, plus, again, I don't have experience with that.

What would the procedure be in order to install the various software for each user? Literally, all 8 users have very different jobs and use very different specialized software.

Should the software then be installed using the local admin account of each device? Would that be better?

Thank you!

More about : prepare domain

March 24, 2014 8:00:24 AM

Microsoft networking is one of the easiest networks to create & maintain. To join a PC to a Windows domain, do the following:

1) Right-click on "My Computer" (whatever it's named), and then click "Properties".
2) Under the "Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings", click "Change Settings".
3) Under the "Computer Name" tab, you will see an option to "rename this computer or change its domain" - click the "Change" button.
4) In the next menu, click the radio button for "Domain" and then type in the name of your domain. You will be prompted to type in a domain administrator's username /password; after doing that, you will have to restart the PC.

Finally, when Windows starts up, you will now be allowed to login as a domain user using the format <domain>\<username>.

If all users have different software, then you will have to install each software package according to its install requirements. Most packages will say if they require an Admin acct to install.
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March 24, 2014 2:54:13 PM

Thanks for your post.
I'm aware how to join the pc to the domain, it's especially the software installation/management part that I'm not too sure about, as well as the windows 7 installation.

During W7 install, you are prompted to create an account which is an administrator account. What account do you create if you know the pc will be joined to a domain and accessed with a domain account anyway? I guess you just use a general account name like "admin".

Once the pc is joined to the domain, my understanding is you can log in using one of 3 account types:
-local admin (the account created during windows 7 installation)
-domain admin account
-domain user account

Now for security purposes, I understand that users should have standard user accounts, which mean they cannot install software.

So if all 8 users (who use 8 different computers) use all different software, would the proper way be to log in with the local admin account on each pc and install the software needed by each specific user?

Thanks again.
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March 25, 2014 7:07:32 AM

Your reply that you are "aware how to join the pc to the domain" is at odds with what you previously asked - "how do you prepare a new windows 7 machine to join a domain?" In that light, I will recommend you purchase "Networking All-in-One for Dummies" - it will give you the basics of what you're going to need as you try to administer your small network. (see Amazon.com - ISBN-10: 1118380983 | ISBN-13: 978-1118380987 )

Here is some additional general answers to your general questions.

1) The local Administrator account can be named anything you want. If you are managing all of these PCs, then you will want to name the account the same and give each the same strong password. I usually recommend renaming the Administrator account to some other name so it isn't as easy to access.

2) If you need to use domain resources - a shared network drive, a shared printer, etc. - then you will want to log on as a domain user. A Domain Administrator account should NOT be used as an everyday, general user login. That will limit the scope of any machine / user account compromises as it will only have access as that particular users, and not access everything as the Domain Admin.

3) User accounts can install software; they do not have to be Admin accounts. An easy example of this is Firefox. However, some software might require an Admin account to install; it depends on each software package individually. You can also lock down machines to only allow certain programs to run, but that would be something that I would only recommend to ones with experience. Since you have a small group of computers, then it would be easy to install the software on each PC individually. If you are prompted for an Admin acct, then you could give it the proper credentials at that time.

I would also recommend that you install an antivirus package on each PC. Microsoft's Security Essentials is freely available, and there are other antivirus software that you might like as well.
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March 25, 2014 6:45:31 PM

Thanks for your advise.
Indeed, I was inquiring on how to prepare a pc to be joined to a domain, not how to join the pc to the domain.

The points you make seem to be in line with info I found elsewhere on the topic.

Here is a good link for anyone wondering:
http://community.spiceworks.com/topic/366619-win-7-doma...

The concnsus seems to be to install W7 and create a local admin account (same account name for simplicity) during the install of W7 on all computers. The computer is then joined to the domain. Afterwards, software can be installed using the domain admin account. During everyday use, the user logs in with a domain standard account (which is not an admin). If there is a need to install software with an admin account, the domain account can be used. Alternatively, if there is a problem with the network, the local admin account can always be used.
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