Moving from old NT4 domain into workgroup- tips wanted

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-keevill-

I have an office with about 30 machines which currently run in an old NT4
domain with 1 PDC. The client machines have all been changed over to WinXP
Pro/ Win2K.
I am moving offices and I want to get rid of the NT Domain and move the
machines into a simple workgroup as I don' t need all the security /
permissions etc given by a domain. How would be the easiest way to do that ?
I want to try to keep existing user profiles such as Outlook pst files etc
otherwise it will take me a long time to set each user's machine up. Is
there a tool to assist in this job ? At the moment, I have removed the PDC
( actually it died the death with the office move) but each user is still
able to login to the non-existent domain. When testing I notice that if I
change a client machine into logging into a new workgroup, then I cannot
take it back to the old domain and of course all the settings are lost. Any
tips or help would be appreciated.
 
-keevill- said:
I have an office with about 30 machines which currently run in an old NT4
domain with 1 PDC. The client machines have all been changed over to WinXP
Pro/ Win2K.
I am moving offices and I want to get rid of the NT Domain and move the
machines into a simple workgroup as I don' t need all the security /
permissions etc given by a domain.
Click to expand...


You're about to make your life much more complicated, having to
individually administer 30 individual machines, one at a time. And, as
the optimum number of work stations in a workgroup is 10 to 12, expect
to see a measurable degradation in network performance. Oh, and
remember that both Win2K and WinXP Pro limit simultaneous inbound
network connections to 10, so there will be frequent problems with some
people accessing any shared network folders or printers.


How would be the easiest way to do that ?


On each workstation, remove it from the domain and add it to the
workgroup. Create a local user account and password for each individual
user who uses each workstation, and for each individual who will need to
access any shared resources on the workstation. Remember that each
username and password used to access any shared resources via the
network must be the same as that used to log in to the remote machines.

I want to try to keep existing user profiles such as Outlook pst files etc
otherwise it will take me a long time to set each user's machine up. Is
there a tool to assist in this job ?
Click to expand...


Not that I'm aware of. You may be able to copy files from from each
user's domain account's user profile, but most of the settings will have
to be individually configured. And remember to copy the users' files to
the new, local profiles *before* removing the PC from the domain, or it
will become much more difficult, requiring a local administrator to take
ownership of the user's files.

As you're using Outlook, what kind of email server are you connecting
to. If you use and Exchange server, I don't believe that can be made to
work without a domain. Are you perhaps using an independent ISP and
POP3 accounts?

At the moment, I have removed the PDC
( actually it died the death with the office move) but each user is still
able to login to the non-existent domain.
Click to expand...


Yes, they're using cached credentials.

When testing I notice that if I
change a client machine into logging into a new workgroup, then I cannot
take it back to the old domain and of course all the settings are lost.
Click to expand...


Yes, that normal behavior.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH
 
actually, I didn't know about the limit on workgroup traffic. Perhaps I
better review this situation and perhaps bite the bullet of a new Win2K
domain / active directory structure.
 
-keevill- said:
actually, I didn't know about the limit on workgroup traffic. Perhaps I
better review this situation and perhaps bite the bullet of a new Win2K
domain / active directory structure.
Click to expand...


With 30 workstations, I do think a domain would be easier for you in
the long run. You might want to look into Windows Small Business Server
2003. It's designed for smaller networks and a lot of the
administrative tasks are simplified via wizards, etc. It even includes
and Exchange Server capability into the single software package.

Overview
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2003/sbs/evaluation/overview/default.mspx


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH
 
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