Can't change workgroup to a domain

Hello,

I hope this is an easy fix. I have a desktop computer that is currently part of a workgroup. I want to add it to a domain that I use for my company's network. The desktop is running Windows XP Media Center SP3. Here is what I have tried.

1. First, I created an administrative account on the new desktop that has the same username and password as another computer in the domain (the new computer is taking the place of the old one).

2. Then I go to My Computer==> Properties==> Computer Name. This is where the problem comes in. I see that Workgroup is selected. The domain option is grayed out so I cannot select it and type in a domain. I tried changing my computer's name and going through the built in network wizard. It seems like something is blocking me from changing this to a domain. I am logged in as an Admin.

Any ideas? I thought this was going to be easy!
Thanks,
Chip

 

Hi Arie,
Thanks for the reply. Just to be sure, do you mean that Media Center does not support domains? I started surfing the web after I posted my question and saw something to that affect.

If this is the case, is there an easy way to change the OS on this PC to XP Pro? I very much want to use it for my work PC, but it must be able to join my local domain.

 

More Info:
I have since found that there is a registry hack that would fix this. I am not brave enough to try something like that. I also read that some people who upgrade to Media Center 2005 have the option to select domain during the installation. Has anyone heard of this?

It's really a shame - I have never used any of the MC features. I guess I could always wipe my drives clean and install XP Pro. I am praying for an easier answer.

BTW: I am running Media Center 2002.

 

I have used the hack. Works slick as a whistle. Media Center is really just XP Pro in a different shell. The hack just enables what MS left out for joining domains.

 

Thanks Arie and noahdfear,

I have heard good things about the hack. But I prefer to avoid this type of thing. So I went out and bought a retail version of XP Pro. Now I have a new problem. I started using CopyRite (utility based on RoboCopy) to copy the files from this PC to an external HDD and then to my file server. I wanted to make sure I got everything off the PC before I did a clean install of XP Pro. Well, I was able to get about 50 GB moved over. Then I needed to leave the house. I shut down and when I came back to boot up I got the following error message:

NTLDR is missing
Press Ctrl Alt Del to Restart

I looked online and found a place that said I should do the following:

1. Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer.
2. When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
3. Once in the Windows XP setup menu press the "R" key to repair Windows.
4. Log into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and pressing enter.
5. You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password.
6. Copy the below two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk. In the below example we are copying these files from the CD-ROM drive letter, which in this case is "e." This letter may be different on your computer.

copy e:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

7. Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot.

Well, when I get to Step 3 and press R I do not see an option to press 1 and log in. When the command prompt comes up I try to copy the files as explained and get an "Access Denied" message. When I try to do a CHDIR to see whats on the CD, I get a message that there is nothing in the drive!

Any ideas how I can get the machine working long enough to copy my files over? I have access to WIndows 98 CD is that will help.

 

If you get to a command prompt in recovery mode then I think you can find that your drive letters get swapped around. The command to see the files at the current level is dir. So once you get to the C: prompt do a dir at this point to see if that is your hard drive. Then enter d: and do a dir again to see what files are listed on the drive assigned to D:. As you are using E: do a e: and repeat the test again. The problem may simply be that your drive letters are not assigned in the way you think.

However, the other problem may be due to you being in a very basic OS state - one with minimum drivers. In particular, no USB drivers and therefore, no access to a USB hard drive from within this state.

You may well find that the two simplest ways of getting the data off the disk are:

1. By far the simplest solution if you have another PC is to remove the hard drive, and use an IDE to USB connector to access the drive from the 2nd PC. The hard drive appears just like an ordinary external USB hard drive. I use this method a lot and it works a treat. In fact, my USB to SATA/IDE connect is one of my most useful pieces of kit, and I'd recommend any PC enthusiast to invest in one.
2. If you don't have access to another PC, the simplest solution is to use an alternative boot device: the simplest is usually a OS that will boot via CD. Nowadays, the easiest place to find such CD is on the front cover of Linux Magazines. Most modern Linux demo disks are live boot: That is you put them in you CD drive and boot to that drive and a fully working Linux OS starts up. What's more most modern Linux distros have FAT and NTFS support and can access Windows partitions. You will have to navigate through the Linux menus but they aren't as different to Windows systems as they used to be. Another similar approach is to use something like BartPE to create a windows boot CD. However, you need a working PC to create the Windows boot CD, in which case option 1 above may be easier.