Create an Active Directory on Windows Server 2003

When you arrive on your Windows session, the wizard informs you that your server is now a domain controller.

2. Create a user in the Active Directory

Once Active Directory installed, you must now create the user who will connect to the server "Windows Server 2003".
To do this, in the "Domain controller (Active Directory)" category click "Manage users and computers in Active Directory".

Right click on your domain ("informatiweb.lan" in our case) and go to "New -> User".

Complete first and last name. The full name is automatically filled in but obviously you can change it if you wish. Then enter a "user name (pseudo)" with which we connect to the server from "Windows XP". In our case, our user called "InformatiUser".

Enter a secure password : tiny / uppercase and figures, and check "Password never expires" to avoid having to change it every x time.

The wizard displays a summary of the configuration of the user. Click "Finish" to create the user

Now, you can see by clicking once on your domain (informatiweb.lan) that your user has been created. (Highlighted in blue in the list)

3. Add a client under Windows XP to the Active Directory

Then, start your PC under "Windows XP" and let the server powered on. Go to the Control Panel.

Then "Network Connections".

Right click on your "Local Area Connection" and click "Properties".

And enter the IP address of your PC under "Windows Server 2003" as the favorite in "Windows XP" DNS server. This will allow Windows XP to know the IP address that corresponds to our domain name that will show him just after.

Still in Control Panel, go to "System".

In the "Computer Name" tab click the "Edit" button.

Select "Domain" instead of "Workgroup" and click OK.

If no error occurred during installations and configurations on the server and that you have defined the preferred DNS server as indicated above, Windows will ask for the username / password of the "Administrator" account (of the server). If you don't have this window, it may be because you left during installation when you were on the server and the server that plant so reformatting is required is why you must make backups.

If "Windows XP" has managed to connect to your server, it will display "Welcome to the domain informatiweb".

He informs you that a reboot is required.

Press "OK".

And finally click "Yes".

Little difference from a Windows which isn't in an domain. Being a member of a domain disable the Welcome screen, which makes sense since Windows XP doesn't have the list of users since it was on the server.

Press the "Options" button and in the list "Log in to", select your domain name, which is in our case "InformatiWeb". Then enter the username / password of the user you create in Active Directory. In our case the user "InformatiUser".

Once connected, by going to "Control Panel -> System", you will see that your pc is member of the domain "informatiweb.lan" that you defined in the server and the name of the computer changes.

And last thing, remember to turn off the client PC before shutting down your server even if in the professional world a server is almost never off.
The shutdown screen also changes appearance.

That you now know how to create and configure "Active Directory".