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I did some googling, and everywhere it says Windows Home cannot join a domain or LDAP or is not recommended.

But is there a way? We dont need an Active Directory, simple LDAP with Z drive is sufficient? Reason we have many Windows Home 7 users, and would like to add them to our LDAP?

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As far as I know...no. – Holocryptic Dec 21 '11 at 14:54
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I wouldn't assume this is off topic just because Windows Home Edition is mentioned. In my professional experience in multiple organisations, you are sometimes challenged to join a computer someone has purchased with a home edition of Windows on it. The answer you give as a professional is that you can't and the person should not have bought the cheap computer without going through the regular procurement procedures. Just because not every single user approaches things in a professional manner doesn't mean the OP isn't a pro! – dunxd Dec 21 '11 at 15:18
Thanks for the answers. The pecuiliar case is for consultants in a client organizations where several of them are allowed to bring in laptops and most cases these laptops have Windows Home Basic, because in our part of the world that's what gets sold standard with laptops – ramdaz Dec 21 '11 at 15:34
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That often comes standard with laptops because they're sold to home users. However, you can't get it to talk to AD or central authentication systems easily because they're meant for home use, and you'll violate a license if you work around it. That's what a license agreement is for. If the business client wants their employees to join the domain, they will need to pay for licenses to the pro version and offer to have it installed on the client computers, or start supplying clients with company laptops. – Bart Silverstrim Dec 21 '11 at 16:24
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closed as off topic by Holocryptic, Tom O'Connor, SvenW, Greg Askew, Shane Madden Dec 21 '11 at 16:26

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2 Answers

up vote 12 down vote

No, this is a deliberate licensing decision taken by Microsoft. If you want a domain, get Professional.

Even if you found some kind of hack, it would be a breach of license.

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+1 for not being a cheapskate. – Tom O'Connor Dec 21 '11 at 15:00
I wouldn't call circumventing microsoft's monopolistic license fees "cheapskate" - how about "not being ripped off"? – adaptr Dec 21 '11 at 15:16
@adaptr Whatever you want to call it, it's still not acceptable. – Dan Dec 21 '11 at 15:18
@adaptr Paying for useful software features is as much a "rip off" as paying for music or movies. – jscott Dec 21 '11 at 15:19
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THERE'S NO DISCUSSION. THE LICENSE AGREEMENT IS ACCEPTED WHEN YOU USE IT, OTHERWISE DON'T ACCEPT THE LICENSE AND DON'T USE THE OS. It's pretty cut and dry. – Bart Silverstrim Dec 21 '11 at 16:26
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up vote 3 down vote

You could map the drives without them being joined to the domain by creating a simple batch script that runs the NET USE command upon login. The command passes domain/user and password so you'd still need an account in AD with proper permissions to the resource. Personally I'd hate to loose out on Group Policy and would just upgrade them. Also credentials being stored in a file is not good. Wouldn't be hard to justify this cost to management and any sensible director will appreciate that you want todo things the right way.

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I suspect you meant batch script there... – adaptr Dec 21 '11 at 15:16
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