Monday, May 07, 2012

Windows XP unable to change domain

An user was having trouble getting his Windows XP laptop authenticating with the AD domain.  He sent his laptop to the support team and the support engineer was about to try dis-joining and re-joining his laptop from the AD domain but was unable to do so.

The Change button for renaming computer name and changing domain has been disabled and greyed out.  However, the note at the bottom provides a hint of what might be the cause of it.

Note: The identification of the computer cannot be changed because:
- Networking is not installed or is not properly configured.

Change Domain Greyed Out

Looking at the network connection properties, I immediately noticed the absence of the Client for Microsoft Networks component.

Client for Microsoft Networks Missing

To add the missing Client for Microsoft Networks component, click on the Install button on the network connection properties windows.  On the Select Network Component Type windows, select Client and click on the Add button.

Add Client for Microsoft Networks 1

On the Select Network Client windows, select Client for Microsoft Networks and click on the OK button.

Add Client for Microsoft Networks 2

The Client for Microsoft Networks will appear on the network connection properties windows.

With Client for Microsoft Networks

Reboot the laptop and everything is back to normal.

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