The key to joining a Windows Server domain is to ensure that the network, DNS, and permissions are ready, and then complete through system properties or command line operations. 1. Ensure network connectivity, DNS points to domain control, and have domain administrator rights; 2. Enter domain name and account information through "System Properties → Computer Name → Change → Select Domain" to complete domain addition; 3. If you encounter problems, you can troubleshoot network, DNS, account permissions and group policy restrictions; 4. You can also use the PowerShell command Add-ComputerDomain to implement domain addition operations.

Adding a computer to a Windows Server domain is a common operation in enterprise network management, with the main purpose being unified permission control, policy management, and resource sharing. To do this, you need domain administrator permissions and ensure that the network connection between the local computer and the domain controller is normal.

1. Make sure the network and permissions are ready

Before you begin, there are several key points that must be confirmed:

• Network connectivity : Ensure that your computer can access the domain controller (usually ping) over the network.
• DNS is set correctly : The computer's DNS must point to the IP address of the domain controller, or at least have a DNS server that can resolve domain information.
• Domain Administrator Permissions : You must have an account that can be joined to the domain, usually a user with "Get Computers to Domain" permission.

If these conditions are not met, subsequent operations may fail, such as prompting "Domain Controller Not Found" or "No Permissions".

2. Join the domain on the Windows client

The steps are as follows (for Windows 10/11 Pro or Enterprise Edition):

• Open System Properties:

  • Right-click "This Computer" → "Properties" → click "Advanced System Settings" on the left.
  • In the System Properties window, switch to the Computer Name tab.

• Click the "Change" button, select "Domain" in the pop-up window, and then enter the domain name you want to join (such as example.com ).

• After entering, the system will try to contact the domain controller for verification. At this time, you need to enter the account information with permission to join the domain (format is domain\username ).

• If everything goes well, you will be prompted to restart your computer to apply the changes.

Note: After joining the domain, you can use the domain account to log in to the computer.

3. How to troubleshoot problems?

If you encounter problems during the process of joining a domain, you can start from the following aspects:

• Error prompt "Domain controller not found" :

  • Check whether the network is unobstructed.
  • Confirm that DNS is pointing to the domain controller correctly.
  • Try manually ping the domain name to see if it can be parsed.

• Prompt "Access denied" or "No permissions" :

  • Make sure the account you are using has permission to join the domain.
  • If you are a regular user, you may need to contact an IT administrator for assistance.

• Domain addition was successful but cannot log in with domain account :

  • Make sure that the domain account has permission to log in to the computer.
  • Check whether Group Policy has relevant restrictions.

4. Join the domain using the command line (optional)

If you like to use the command line, you can also implement it through PowerShell:

 Add-ComputerDomain -DomainName example.com -Credential (Get-Credential)

After executing this command, a dialog box will pop up to allow you to enter the domain account information with permissions. Restart after completion and take effect.

This method is suitable for batch deployment or remote management scenarios, especially for users who are familiar with script operations.

Basically that's it. The whole process is not complicated, but every step is easily stuck due to configuration problems, especially network and DNS related settings. As long as you do enough preparations in the early stage, the actual operation is actually very fast.

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