The Active Directory Domain provides centralized management of users, computers, and other resources. To benefit from the network’s shared resources, you must join your Windows 11/10 workstation to the domain. And to join your computer to a domain, stay with me till the end of the tutorial.
In this tutorial, I join a Windows 11 computer to a domain using system properties/Control Panel and PowerShell. The process of joining your Windows 10 client-side computer to a domain is the same. You can apply the steps on Windows 10 as well.
Prerequisites
Before joining your windows 10 or 11 devices to a domain, you must consider the following prerequisites.
- Create an active directory user account on your server. To learn more about Active Directory User Account, check the article How to create a user account on Windows server 2022.
- Configure the network settings. You must set a static IP address on your computer and also set the DNS server address as your domain settings. To set a static IP address on Windows 11, check the article ‘how to set static IP address on Windows 11‘.
- Log in with an administrator account or at least have administrative privileges.
- Know the exact domain name spelling you want to join.
How to join a Windows 11 workstation to domain using System properties
The system properties are the first easy and graphical way to join your computer to a domain.
- From the start menu, open the Control Panel and navigate the path below.
- Click on System and Security, then click on System
- Now click on the Domain or Workgroup link.
Note: an easy way to open the system properties is to press Windows + R button and write sysdm.cpl and enter.
- In System Properties window, click on the Change button.
- Under the member of, check the Domain box, write the domain name, and click OK.
- Write the name and password of an account to join the domain.
- A tiny window pops up welcoming you: click ok. Restart your computer.
- After the restart, click on the other user option on the sign-in page, write the Domain name followed by a backward slash (\), and enter the user name and password.
Alternatively, type the AD user name followed by @sign and full domain name in the username text box, and enter the password: like Habib@Techdars.com. Click ok.
How to join a Windows 11 to a domain using PowerShell
Another straightforward way to join windows 11 or 10 to a domain is through PowerShell.
Open PowerShell and write or copy the following command and enter.
Add-Computer -DomainName “Domain_Name” -Credential “Domain_username”
Note: remember to replace the Domain Name and Domain Username
A small window shows up, requesting the credentials for the user account. Enter the password and click OK.
If your computer joined a domain, it gives you a warning: saying the change will affect after you restart the computer.
After the restart, you can log in with the AD user account.
Conclusions
In this tutorial, you learned the process of joining a windows 11 or 10 computer to a domain using the Graphical user interface and PowerShell Cmdlet. I hope you enjoyed it and wish you all the best. If you like the tutorial, share your thought and comments.
