How to Join a PC to Active Directory—My Lazy Guide

If you want to add a PC to Active Directory (AD), here are the prerequisites and steps to follow. This is a quick reference I wrote for myself in case I forget how to do it in the future.

🔥 ​Prerequisites

The PC must be running Windows Pro…


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by FakeStandard

If you want to add a PC to Active Directory (AD), here are the prerequisites and steps to follow. This is a quick reference I wrote for myself in case I forget how to do it in the future.

🔥 ​Prerequisites

  • The PC must be running Windows Pro, Enterprise, or Education edition. (The Home edition can't join a domain)
  • You need to know the domain name, like domainname.com
  • Make sure your network is working properly. The PC must be able to resolve the domain via DNS, which usually means the DNS server should point to the DC.

📌 ​Steps

  1. Open Control Panel > System > About
  2. Click Rename this PC (Advanced)
  3. In the Computer Name tab, click the Change button
  4. Under Member of, select Domain and enter your domain name. (You can also rename your computer here, the new name will appear in AD.)
  5. Restart your PC. On the login screen, check if you see the Other User option. If it appears, you can now sign in with a domain account.

📘 ​Notes

If your PC can't connect to the AD DC, check the network connection between the PC and the DC. Then, make sure the DNS settings are correct.

You can also refer to the previous article in this series—it might help you troubleshoot network-related issues.

Job done☑️

Thanks for reading!

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This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by FakeStandard


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