Adding Users and Computers to a new Active Directory domain

Updated   Read time 2 min(s) 7 sec(s)   (305 views).  Windows  

Once you have installed a new Active Directory domain, your next task is probably to create user accounts and add computers to the appropriate security groups. This article provides a simple step-by-step process to achieve this function.

NOTE: In this article we are assuming you have an Active Directory server running on a Windows Server 2003

Creating a new user

To create a new active directory user, use the following steps:

  1. Click Start
  2. Select Administrative Tools, then click Active Directory Users and Computers to start the AD console.
  3. Click on your domain name, and expand the contents.
  4. Right click Users, select New, and then click User.
  5. Type the first name, last name, and user logon name of your new user, and then click Next.
  6. Type a new password, confirm the password, and then select one of the following check boxes:
    • Users must change password at next logon (recommended for most users)
    • User cannot change password
    • Password never expires
    • Account is disabled
    • Click Next to continue.
  7. Review the information that you provided, and if everything is correct, click Finish.

Group Access

After you've created a new user you may need to give that user account membership to a group that permits that user to perform administrative tasks.

In this example we will give this user account full administrative access by making it a member of the Schema, Enterprise, and Domain administrators groups. using the following steps:

  1. On your AD console, right click the new account that you created, and then click Properties.
  2. Click the Member Of tab, then click Add.
  3. In the Select Groups dialog box, specify a group, and then click OK to add the groups that you want to the list.
  4. Repeat the selection process for each group in which the user needs account membership.
  5. Click OK to finish.

Add a Computer to a domain

One final step maybe is to add a computer to the domain, follow these steps:

  1. Log on the computer that you want to add to the domain.
  2. Right click My Computer, and then click Properties.
  3. Click the Computer Name tab, and then click Change.
  4. In the Computer Name Changes dialog box, click Domain under Member Of, and then type the domain name. Click OK.
  5. When you are prompted, type the user name and password of the account that you previously created, and then click OK.
  6. A message that welcomes you to the domain is generated.
  7. Click OK to return to the Computer Name tab, and then click OK to finish.
  8. Restart the computer if you are prompted to do so.