How to Join Windows 8 to a Domain

Windows 8 either connects to the domain instantly, or requires numerous adjustments to its network settings. In this article, I will show you how to successfully join a Windows 8 computer to a domain.

Pre-requisites

1.  Your Windows 8 machine needs an Active Directory computer account.

2.  Your Windows 8 machine must be able to connect to a domain controller.

3.  Windows 8 Home edition cannot join a domain, you need Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise.

4.  Logon to Windows 8 as a local Administrator.

5.  For Plan B) below you need the name and password of a domain administrator.

Tactics

      Plan A) Create a computer account ahead of time in your Active Directory.

      Plan B) Create the computer's account 'on-the-fly' as you connect to the domain.

Connect Windows 8 to a Domain

Let us find the configuration sheet on your Windows 8 machine so that it can join a domain; I began by clicking on the Computer (Icon), then Properties. That took me to the Control Panel System and Security, System. The next step, which you can see on the screen below, is to click on 'Change settings'.

Connecting to the Domain

From the System Properties sheet, Click on 'Change' and set the radio button to 'Domain:' now type the name of YOUR domain in the 'Member of' box. See screenshot below.

In my example I used “BigDom”, if this did not join my Windows 8 machine to the domain, I would have typed the fully qualified domain name, e.g. “BigDom.Local” "Incidentally you could use the same technique to join a Workgroup.

Guy Thomas is a computer consultant and writer with attitude and a great sense of humor. See here for all of Guy's Tom's IT Pro articles.