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How to add computer to domains with Active Directory

Alright, I'm just learning how to work with AD, so I have two VMWare virtual machines set up. The server, running Windows Server 2008 - r2 (elron), and the client, Windows 7 64bit (theoden). I know the virtual machines can talk to each other, because each can ping each other (by IP). I created an AD install, called "dorm.chiggins.com", so the full computer name for the server is "elron.dorm.chiggins.com", and whenever I login to the server, the username is DORM\Administrator.

So, my question is, what exactly do I need to do on the server and client to add the client to the AD domain?

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BTW .. the Lord of Rivendell is Elrond, with a d. – tomjedrz Sep 7 '10 at 4:44
Damnit, I thought that it was "Elron" :\ – Chiggins Sep 7 '10 at 6:57

marked as duplicate by EEAA, Izzy, John Gardeniers, Jason Berg, splattne♦ Sep 7 '10 at 14:55

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There is nothing you need to do on the server.

Make sure the client can ping the server name with its fully qualified domain name (FQDN), which would be elron.dorm.chiggins.com. If not, make sure the client uses the IP address of elron as it's DNS server.

Then, on the client, click the Start button, then right-click Computer and select Properties. Then, below "Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings" click "Change settings". Then, simply follow the prompts to join the domain.

Note that you must have Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate in order to join a domain.

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If I was to try pinging "elron.dorm.chiggins.com", I would get an unknown host. So, should I add that along with its ip to the hosts file on the client side? – Chiggins Sep 7 '10 at 7:03
No, you shouldn't need to do anything with the hosts file. The client needs to have elron's IP as it's DNS server. – Patrick Sep 7 '10 at 11:45
Got a link on how I could do that? I've never done it before. – Chiggins Sep 7 '10 at 15:09
Whenever I try to join the domain, it asks for a username and password which I supply, then it throws an error saying that the network path cannot be found. – Chiggins Sep 7 '10 at 19:33
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on Theoden, right-click on Computer and go to Properties. Under "Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings, click Change Settings. On the System Properties Page click on "Change". Under "Member of" select Domain and click the name of the domain that you want to join (in your case "DORM"). In the pop up window, enter your domain credentials. Once the confirmation box comes up, you will be all set after a reboot.

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The server machine is the domain controller and so does not need it's domain changing. – Sam Sep 7 '10 at 6:14

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