Recipe 23.15. Connecting Windows XP Clients to a Samba Domain

23.15.1 Problem

Your new Samba primary domain controller (pdc) is ready to roll how do you connect a Windows XP client?

23.15.2 Solution

First of all, you'd better have XP Pro, because XP Home cannot connect to any domain (neither Windows nor Samba).

For XP Professional, you need to take some extra configuration steps, and also install a Registry hack. Here's the procedure:

1. Open the Local Security Policy editor, at Administrative Tools Local Security Policy.

3. Find "Domain member: Disable machine account password changes." Disable it.

4. Find "Domain member: Require strong (Windows 2000 or later) session key." Disable it.

5. Look in /usr/share/doc/samba-doc/registry for WinXP_SignOrSeal.reg. Copy it to Windows, and apply it by double-clicking. Alternatively, you can edit the Registry by hand. Look for this key, and make sure the dword value is 0:

6. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netlogon\Parameters]

7. "requiresignorseal"=dword:00000000

8. Now right-click My Computer, select Properties, then click the Network ID button and run the Network Wizard.

For your first login to the domain, connect as the Samba root user (see Recipe Recipe 23.12).

23.15.3 Discussion

Remember that the workgroup name is your new domain name.

After connecting successfully to a domain, you can initiate subsequent logins with Ctrl-Alt-Del. Note that you can either log into the domain, or log into the local machine without logging into a domain.

23.15.4 See Also

• Recipe 23.4, for more information on configuring Windows networking

• Chapter 3 of Using Samba, Second Edition