How to Join a Domain from a Windows NT Workstation Using RAS (125856)

SUMMARY

This article describes how to use the Remote Access Service (RAS) as your network connection when logging on to a Windows NT domain. This may be necessary if you do not have access to a Wide Area Network (WAN), but you are able to dial and connect to a remote network through RAS. The following topics are discussed:

How to join a remote domain using RAS
Creating an account for your RAS client computer on a remote domain
Connecting to a network using RAS to create a domain list

When you create an account for your RAS client computer on a remote domain, you can be validated by a domain controller on the remote network. This gives you access to domain resources using the same account you use when you are connected directly to the network.

MORE INFORMATION

How to Join a Remote Domain Using RAS

To join a remote domain using RAS, follow these steps:

Verify that your Windows NT-based computer is configured as a member of a workgroup and not a domain.
In Control Panel, double-click Network.
Click Add Software, and then install RAS.NOTE: The next step requires dial-in permissions for your account.
Use RAS to connect to a RAS server on the remote domain.

NOTE: When a RAS client tries to connect to a resource on a Windows NT Workstation-based computer acting as a RAS server, you may receive the following error message:

The logon server could not be found.

To work around this issue, configure your workstation to be a member of a workgroup with the same name as the domain name.

Creating an Account for Your RAS Client Computer on a Remote Domain

It may be necessary to configure an Lmhosts file on the RAS client to enable it to locate the domain controllers if you are utilizing the TCP/IP protocol. You must have the following entries:

a.b.c.d <PDC name> #PRE #DOM:<domain name>
a.b.c.d "domainname \0x1B" #PRE

where a.b.c.d is the IP address of the Primary Domain Controller (PDC), <PDC name> is the NetBIOS name of the PDC, domainname is the NT Domain name, and there exist a total of 15 characters between the opening quotes and the backslash. (for example "<15 char.>\0x1B")

To create an account for your RAS client computer on a remote domain, follow these steps:

In Control Panel, double-click Network.
Click Change, click Domain, and then type the name of the remote domain you want to join in the Domain box.
Select the Create Computer Account In Domain check box.
Type the name of a user account (with administrative privileges in the domain you are joining) in the User Name box, and then type the password for that account in the Password box.
Click OK. If this procedure is successful, the following message appears:
Welcome to the <domain name> domain
Restart your computer.

Connecting to a Network Using RAS to Create a Domain List

To connect to a network using RAS to create a domain list, follow these steps:

Log on to your Windows NT-based computer using a local user account.
Use RAS to connect to a RAS server on the remote domain.
Click Logoff on the Program Manager File menu. Note that your RAS connection is maintained when you do this.

NOTE: For Windows NT version 4.0 you will need to set the KeepRASConnections registry key to keep the RAS connection open when you logoff.For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
158909 How to Keep RAS Connections Active After Logging Off
Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, and then log on. The domain list is created through the RAS link.
Log on to the remote domain.

NOTE: After you have logged on to the remote domain once, your domain credentials are cached locally. Therefore, you do not have to repeat step 5 when you log onto the remote domain again.