clarification sought in using XP Pro laptop for domain at work and workgroup at home

[John B]

I am inquiring for a friend. Unfortunately, I do not have an XP Pro
computer, or a domain, to experiment on. So I am asking for some directions
in helping my friend use his laptop at home, and at work.

The XP Pro laptop was once configured for a two-computer workgroup.
Recently my friend changed employment situations and his laptop was then
changed by his new employer's technician to connect to the company domain.
He has two "profiles," but I am unsure of whether those are hardware
profiles, or whatever. My friend is many miles away, and I haven't seen his
laptop for months. We speak by telephone.

He called me and said he "wanted it both ways." One big challenge to us is
that the other (XP Home desktop) computer that made up his two-computer
workgroup just happened to die, for unrelated reasons (hard drive death),
simultaneous with his joining of the new employer's domain. He has replaced
the desktop with a new XP Home computer, which has default settings, such as
"WORKGROUP" as the name of its network affiliation. Of course there is no
domain at his home, and I am aware that XP Home computers are incapable of
logging on to a domain, anyway.

I have searched old threads in this newsgroup, without gaining a clear
answer to my friend's need. Ron Mendoza's instructions come very close.
However, I doubt that my friend wants to create a new local user in his XP
Pro laptop. He wants his old user, with all its e-mail, favorite places,
etc., to be usable when either connected to his employer's domain, or his
home workgroup.

Last night, we spoke via telephone and he switched his laptop to "WORKGROUP"
and away from domain affiliation. His home peer network now functions. I
anticipate that he will no longer be able to logon to the company domain,
until he reconfigures his laptop for domain participation. His employer's
domain name is ABCDOMAIN.LOCAL, and he can call the employer's technician if
necessary.

So should he change the name of his HOME workgroup to ABCDOMAIN? Should he
leave his laptop configured for domain participation, and expect it to
participate in his home peer network without any further changes?

Is there a need for two *network* profiles (as opposed to hardware
profiles), one specific to the office, and the other specific to his home?
A few specific instructions would be appreciated, in this case, as I lack
the equipment to try this myself.

Thanks!


Marc Greenfield Nov 20 2001, 11:59 pm show options
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web
From: "Marc Greenfield" <[email protected]> - Find messages by
this author
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 10:56:34 +0300
Local: Tues, Nov 20 2001 11:56 pm
Subject: Re: Accessing multiple domains
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I have a question like the one asked by Ken Thompson.

I need to connect to two networks using my laptop with XP Pro. I have a
docking station and when the domain and TCP/IP office settings have been
installed, XP automatically sets up two hardware profiles (that's good). The
office network has a domain and TCP/IP address, etc. The home network has a
workgroup, no domain, and automatically senses the network settings.

When I set up the laptop to connect to the domain, XP boots to the correct
domain hardware profile and the logon screen indicates that I have a choice
of logging into the network domain or the computer. When I select to log
onto the computer at home, it retains all of the domain and office LAN
settings for the PCMCIA card and so cannot connect to my home computer. (I
couldn't find a second "XP compatible" card and did not want to buy two of
the same cards, fearing that I would have the problem I am having now). If I
reset the computer at home to have the correct TCP/IP settings and to attach
to a workgroup not a domain, I can connect to the home network, but when I
reboot, the domain option is eliminated and I must reset everything back in
the office.

Can anyone tell me if I can set up the computer to boot to a domain and
alternately to a workgroup? Will I need to purchase a second PCMCIA card
that binds to different network settings?

Regards,

Hopelessly confused


Ron Mendoza Nov 21 2001, 8:47 am show options
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web
From: Ron Mendoza <[email protected]&­gt; - Find messages
by this author
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 08:44:44 -0800
Local: Wed, Nov 21 2001 8:44 am
Subject: Re: Accessing multiple domains
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Marc,
There are multiple ways to achieve what you want.

1.
If you haven't already done so, create a local user on your laptop
with the desired user name and password you want to use in your
Workgroup at home. At work, log on to the domain as usual, using your
domain account.

At home, simply log into your local machine using the local account
you created above. You should then be able to access all your
Workgroup resources without a problem.

2.
Another way is to log on to your laptop using your Domain account even
when you're at home. Then, use the Manage Network Passwords feature
to store the user name and password you want to use when accessing
your Workgroup resources at home.

 

[Robert L [MS-MVP]]

this may help, quoted from http://www.ChicagoTech.net
Q: How can I share files between workgroup computer and domain/workgroup computer?
I have a home wireless network and share files and a printer between two computers. I also use Win 2000/XP laptop at work with domain network. How can I share files between these computers at home?

A: Deepening on your network setup, you may 1) Logon local laptop using the same logon id and password on both machine.
2) change workgroup name to match win2000 domain and the laptop needs to install at home first ad then join the domain .
3) without changing the workgroup name and logon ID, just enable guest account in win 2000/XP.
4) If you are running XP, enable Simple File Sharing.
5) logon domain user on the domain laptop (even the workgroup is different), use command net use \\workgroupcomputer /user:administrator, (here administrator is workgroup computer local administrator), the enter workgroup computer administrator password. You should be able to access the workgroup resources.

For more and other information, go to http://howtonetworking.com.

Don't send e-mail or reply to me except you need consulting services. Posting on MS newsgroup will benefit all readers and you may get more help.

Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
How to Setup Windows, Network, Remote Access on http://www.HowToNetworking.com
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on http://www.ChicagoTech.net
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties.
I recommend Brinkster for web hosting!

I am inquiring for a friend. Unfortunately, I do not have an XP Pro
computer, or a domain, to experiment on. So I am asking for some directions
in helping my friend use his laptop at home, and at work.

The XP Pro laptop was once configured for a two-computer workgroup.
Recently my friend changed employment situations and his laptop was then
changed by his new employer's technician to connect to the company domain.
He has two "profiles," but I am unsure of whether those are hardware
profiles, or whatever. My friend is many miles away, and I haven't seen his
laptop for months. We speak by telephone.

He called me and said he "wanted it both ways." One big challenge to us is
that the other (XP Home desktop) computer that made up his two-computer
workgroup just happened to die, for unrelated reasons (hard drive death),
simultaneous with his joining of the new employer's domain. He has replaced
the desktop with a new XP Home computer, which has default settings, such as
"WORKGROUP" as the name of its network affiliation. Of course there is no
domain at his home, and I am aware that XP Home computers are incapable of
logging on to a domain, anyway.

I have searched old threads in this newsgroup, without gaining a clear
answer to my friend's need. Ron Mendoza's instructions come very close.
However, I doubt that my friend wants to create a new local user in his XP
Pro laptop. He wants his old user, with all its e-mail, favorite places,
etc., to be usable when either connected to his employer's domain, or his
home workgroup.

Last night, we spoke via telephone and he switched his laptop to "WORKGROUP"
and away from domain affiliation. His home peer network now functions. I
anticipate that he will no longer be able to logon to the company domain,
until he reconfigures his laptop for domain participation. His employer's
domain name is ABCDOMAIN.LOCAL, and he can call the employer's technician if
necessary.

So should he change the name of his HOME workgroup to ABCDOMAIN? Should he
leave his laptop configured for domain participation, and expect it to
participate in his home peer network without any further changes?

Is there a need for two *network* profiles (as opposed to hardware
profiles), one specific to the office, and the other specific to his home?
A few specific instructions would be appreciated, in this case, as I lack
the equipment to try this myself.

Thanks!


Marc Greenfield Nov 20 2001, 11:59 pm show options
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web
From: "Marc Greenfield" <[email protected]> - Find messages by
this author
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 10:56:34 +0300
Local: Tues, Nov 20 2001 11:56 pm
Subject: Re: Accessing multiple domains
Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original |
Report Abuse

I have a question like the one asked by Ken Thompson.

I need to connect to two networks using my laptop with XP Pro. I have a
docking station and when the domain and TCP/IP office settings have been
installed, XP automatically sets up two hardware profiles (that's good). The
office network has a domain and TCP/IP address, etc. The home network has a
workgroup, no domain, and automatically senses the network settings.

When I set up the laptop to connect to the domain, XP boots to the correct
domain hardware profile and the logon screen indicates that I have a choice
of logging into the network domain or the computer. When I select to log
onto the computer at home, it retains all of the domain and office LAN
settings for the PCMCIA card and so cannot connect to my home computer. (I
couldn't find a second "XP compatible" card and did not want to buy two of
the same cards, fearing that I would have the problem I am having now). If I
reset the computer at home to have the correct TCP/IP settings and to attach
to a workgroup not a domain, I can connect to the home network, but when I
reboot, the domain option is eliminated and I must reset everything back in
the office.

Can anyone tell me if I can set up the computer to boot to a domain and
alternately to a workgroup? Will I need to purchase a second PCMCIA card
that binds to different network settings?

Regards,

Hopelessly confused


Ron Mendoza Nov 21 2001, 8:47 am show options
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web
From: Ron Mendoza <[email protected]&­gt; - Find messages
by this author
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 08:44:44 -0800
Local: Wed, Nov 21 2001 8:44 am
Subject: Re: Accessing multiple domains
Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original |
Report Abuse

Marc,
There are multiple ways to achieve what you want.

1.
If you haven't already done so, create a local user on your laptop
with the desired user name and password you want to use in your
Workgroup at home. At work, log on to the domain as usual, using your
domain account.

At home, simply log into your local machine using the local account
you created above. You should then be able to access all your
Workgroup resources without a problem.

2.
Another way is to log on to your laptop using your Domain account even
when you're at home. Then, use the Manage Network Passwords feature
to store the user name and password you want to use when accessing
your Workgroup resources at home.

 

[Richard G. Harper]

There is no need to disjoin a laptop from a domain in order to bring it home
and use it with a workgroup. In fact, doing so has definitely broken his
ability to log into the domain at work and he will need the assistance of
his domain administrators to fix what he has broken.

The first thing your friend needs to do is explain his desires to the folks
who run his work network. They may or may not wish him to use his laptop on
his home network and if they do not then he should respect their wishes. If
they do not mind then they will be able to assist him in making it possible.

In all likelihood it will take no more than plugging his laptop into his
home network and connecting to the resources he wants to use manually (as
opposed to automatically as usually happens on a work network).

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

 

[John B]

Thanks for the response.

The first thing your friend needs to do is explain his desires to the folks
who run his work network. They may or may not wish him to use his laptop on
his home network and if they do not then he should respect their wishes. If
they do not mind then they will be able to assist him in making it

possible.
Good point.

In all likelihood it will take no more than plugging his laptop into his
home network and connecting to the resources he wants to use manually (as
opposed to automatically as usually happens on a work network).

I haven't been on a domain in a long time. I surmise that domain printers
and shares show up on a newly connected XP Pro laptop, as long as that
laptop is made to be a member of said domain. But couldn't the same be said
of, say, an XP Home computer that is newly connected to a peer network? I
believe that workgroup resources are visible and usable to dependent
computers that have been logged onto by usernames and passwords that exist
in the resource-donor computers.

What, then, is meant by manual resource connection?

Suppose my friend's XP Pro computer is returned to domain participation. He
then brings it home, and connects to his Linksys IP router, which also
provides firewall and DHCP service. He receives an IP address. He waits a
few minutes. Supposedly, he should be able to see the XP Home desktop
(workgroup) computer, and its shared resources, at his house. The desktop
should similarly see the laptop and any shares therein. The necessary
conditions should be, simply:
* they are on the same subnet; i.e., similar, but not identical, IP
addresses
* Msft file and print sharing active on both computers
* no software firewall interference
* username and password, used at one computer, exist within the other
computer

Does it matter that the workgroup name of the desktop does not resemble the
domain name of the laptop?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Last night, we spoke via telephone and he switched his laptop to
"WORKGROUP"
and away from domain affiliation. His home peer network now functions. I
anticipate that he will no longer be able to logon to the company domain,
until he reconfigures his laptop for domain participation. His employer's
domain name is ABCDOMAIN.LOCAL, and he can call the employer's technician
if
necessary.

 

[Richard G. Harper]

If the computer gets a valid IP address from the "home" network you should
be able to see and browse the workgroup even if the workgroup name does not
match the domain name. You may need to create a user on the home network
PCs with the same name and password as are used for the domain login to
simplify browsing, but even if you can't browse the home network you can
still connect to shared resources by using NET USE with a known ID and
password from the home network.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Thanks for the response.

The first thing your friend needs to do is explain his desires to the folks
who run his work network. They may or may not wish him to use his laptop on
his home network and if they do not then he should respect their wishes. If
they do not mind then they will be able to assist him in making it

possible.
Good point.

In all likelihood it will take no more than plugging his laptop into his
home network and connecting to the resources he wants to use manually (as
opposed to automatically as usually happens on a work network).

I haven't been on a domain in a long time. I surmise that domain printers
and shares show up on a newly connected XP Pro laptop, as long as that
laptop is made to be a member of said domain. But couldn't the same be
said
of, say, an XP Home computer that is newly connected to a peer network? I
believe that workgroup resources are visible and usable to dependent
computers that have been logged onto by usernames and passwords that exist
in the resource-donor computers.

What, then, is meant by manual resource connection?

Suppose my friend's XP Pro computer is returned to domain participation.
He
then brings it home, and connects to his Linksys IP router, which also
provides firewall and DHCP service. He receives an IP address. He waits
a
few minutes. Supposedly, he should be able to see the XP Home desktop
(workgroup) computer, and its shared resources, at his house. The desktop
should similarly see the laptop and any shares therein. The necessary
conditions should be, simply:
* they are on the same subnet; i.e., similar, but not identical, IP
addresses
* Msft file and print sharing active on both computers
* no software firewall interference
* username and password, used at one computer, exist within the other
computer

Does it matter that the workgroup name of the desktop does not resemble
the
domain name of the laptop?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Last night, we spoke via telephone and he switched his laptop to
"WORKGROUP"
and away from domain affiliation. His home peer network now functions. I
anticipate that he will no longer be able to logon to the company domain,
until he reconfigures his laptop for domain participation. His employer's
domain name is ABCDOMAIN.LOCAL, and he can call the employer's technician
if
necessary.