Warning! I learned my Lesson!

[mpcook]

Just an FYI so others can avoid what I learned the hard way. In fact, it could have been a lot worse!

I have, among others, an HP laptop, which is provided by my employer. Very nice machine, almost as good as a TP. Anyway, I have a typical home network, wireless, with a wireless print server and two printers, plus my X32 and a TIVO wired into the router, a T23 and the T40 via wireless. My HP is able to access the internet via the router, either wired or wireless. However, I have never been able to see the other equipment on my network from the HP, and nothing else can see the HP. This is because I am set up as a workgroup at home. My HP is setup on a domain for work access. I finally got frustrated (printing has devolved to using Adobe to create a file, copy to thumb drive, find a TP and print from there). I changed the HP networking to workgroup so I could join. Upon reboot, I was unable to log into Windows XP. No login / password would work. Googling told me I was fairly screwed by doing this and my only possible saving grace was to login as administrator - this was the only valid account left to log into. Once logged in as admin, I had a chance of changing back to domain from workgroup and salvaging my system. Also likely scenario was I would have to reformat and rebuild the OS.

I had recent backups but still this is no fun! Of course, only my IT guy has my administrator password. After much groveling, I was able to get him to give it a go. Thankfully, everything was still in place once he logged in and changed back to the domain. This was my only option - no other way to get into the machine after doing what I did.

I promised I would never screw with the HP again, breathed a big sigh of relief, backed everything up to two locations, and went back to work. I keep my thumb drives with me at all times...

Don't ever do this! XP cannot handle it. IT tells me there is no way to get around this design flaw.

Mike

[Harryc]

I had the same problem until I bought a USB/DVI KVM with a built in USB 2.0 hub. It shares a DVI LCD, laser printer, scanner, and of course a keyboard and mouse. My work machine is tunneled to a VPN during the day...

[Kyocera]

A domain and a workgroup are two different entities two different profiles, mostly for security reasons. Large companies allow their employees to take their machines home to work and if they need to log in to the company network they can via their home ISP. If an employee of the company I work for now took a machine home and could somehow screw it up royally, they would get maybe two chances and that would be it. Usually a company will give users limited accounts, so they could not change the domain period.

I'm not sure why the IT guy says this is a design flaw. Sounds like they need to lock down their systems a little better.

[jdhurst]

As it happens, I set up most client laptops off-domain to avoid that problem. A simple connection script gives them company services when they need. But they cannot change the domain/workgroup attributes - only I can do that for them. Kyocera was correct - lax PC security. ... JDH

[davidspalding]

Yeah, good lesson learned. DON'T monkey around with a work laptop's networking and permissions and security (lax and otherwise) without checking with your IT support folks first.

There are other ways to reach systems on the home network. VNC connection to a home machine by IP address, for instance. PSCP / FTP or other solutions. Been there, done that. It's a bit of a chore, but it keeps the home systems and the work system running as meant to. Glad you didn't lose files or too much productivity.

[mpcook]

Yeah, good lesson learned. DON'T monkey around with a work laptop's networking and permissions and security (lax and otherwise) without checking with your IT support folks first.

There are other ways to reach systems on the home network. VNC connection to a home machine by IP address, for instance. PSCP / FTP or other solutions. Been there, done that. It's a bit of a chore, but it keeps the home systems and the work system running as meant to. Glad you didn't lose files or too much productivity.

Thanks yeah, I think I will just stick to the sneaker-net for now. Simple and effective.

Mike

[ArtShapiro]

This interesting thread has me a bit addlepated.

I also have a workgroup at home. I often take one of the laptops to work, and have in the past renamed it and stuck it into the work domain just to make things a little smoother when mapping shares and transferring files. Then I've routinely restored the old name and the workgroup designation and rebooted without incident.

Granted this is the opposite sequence from yours, but so what?

Art

[mpcook]

This interesting thread has me a bit addlepated.

I also have a workgroup at home. I often take one of the laptops to work, and have in the past renamed it and stuck it into the work domain just to make things a little smoother when mapping shares and transferring files. Then I've routinely restored the old name and the workgroup designation and rebooted without incident.

Granted this is the opposite sequence from yours, but so what?

Art

I don't know enough about the intricacies of networking with XP to understand how or why this could work in one direction but not the other. I suspect that something about the work network would keep me from logging in with my home laptop no matter what I tried. I know when suppliers come to visit, they are all dead in the water if they need network access.

Mike

[tilneford]

This is probably the most OT post I've ever posted but: all this talk from Kyocera, jdhurst and Harryc re domains and workgroups, is there a book you can recommend which would provide a core understanding of these topics?

I started learning networking about 18 months ago and, on the advice of someone, bought and read the first 100 pages or so of the Cisco Networking Academy 1st Year Companion Guide, 2d ed. I should read it again, but it was pretty good at helping me understand the basics. The distinctions between workgroups and domains is a mystery and a tome to tell the tale would be nice.

[Kyocera]

If you want to get up close and personal with Domains get one of the MCSA/MCSE Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastucture Training Kits. You get Cd's and a Limited use 2003 server OS. Mine was around $70 at Barne & Noble. If you can get through a few chapters of a Cisco CCNA book and still be interested you could also get through one of these. For networking I would recommend one of the Mike Myers Network Plus cert guides. His books are actually interesting to read while you learn totally technical Stuff. CCNA Manuals would be something to fine tune your cisco router skills and take basic networking to the next level. I noticed that the CCNA study guide sixth edition has a little humor thrown in (VLANs and subnetting now that's fun stuff) and that is always nice when your brain feels like it is in a frying pan.

Now the 2003 Network Infrastucture Training Kit does not go much into workgroups as domains are MS bread and butter, covers strictly domains and domain controllers, and a lot of other extremely good topics DNS, TCP/IP etc. There are also a ton of other training materials out there, on line tutorials is a good way to do a "quick hit" on a topic or or with a fat credit card there are on line courses for large amounts of cash.

[tilneford]

Thanks, Kyocera, for the suggestions for reading material. ... Now all I need is a beach, a big umbrella and a drink with a little umbrella.