Correct setup of XP-Pro computer on Win2K Domain

G

Guest

I'm running a small (25 workstations) Windows 2000 domain. We are slowly
replacing all of our workstations (currently running Win98). I'm having
inconsistent problems with security when I setup a new XP-Pro workstation.
When I go through the XP installation, I typically make a single user account
for the computer using the user's domain-user name. This (I believe) gives
the user Administrator-level rights of the workstation, but, whatever rights
he normally has on the network whenever he is logged onto the domain.

Most of our applications have installers located on the network, so after
the initial setup, I log onto the domain as Administrator and install the
applications. We have a mix of older (Lotus Smartsuite 9.7 for one...) and
newer applications. We use mapped drives, but I wouldn't be hesitant to
switch to UNC if that would help!

The problem is that when the user logs onto the domain, some of the
applications cannot be run because the user doesn't have the correct rights.
This is obvious from the various error messages (can't open config files,
unable to find preferences files, etc). This can sometimes be fixed by
overriding the security on the individual program directory, but not always,
of course.

I think that I must be doing something fundamentally wrong here. Should I
be installing the applications only when logged on as the user? Should I
create a separate Administrator account in XP on the workstation?

TIA!
 
G

Guest

Setting up a local account on the xp machine does not result in local admin
rights for that user, you need to put them in the local admin group.
I also use some older programs, some will just not run unless installed by
the user who is using them.
Instead of creating an account on the machine, I just put Domain Users in
the local admin group.
 
G

Guest

Ok, that makes sense. I'll skip the local account altogether on my next
machine - that will certainly save confusion. Lotus, for example, does
require (as you suspected) that it is installed by the user account. Most
everything else works now that I've added Domain Users to the local
Administrators group.

Thanks for your help!
 

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