Hi gang, first time installing Win2K3. What I'm trying to acheive is have 3 computers (2 Win2K | 1 Win ME) log onto the Win2K3 server and have a domain. Everything keeps wanting me to point to a real web address for my DC. Is there a way to make this happen without having a real xxx.xxx.com address? Thanks for any tips! ~Rob p.s. If you want to e-mail me it's Storm442_YourPants_@Hotmail.com, but remember, I won't get your e-mail unless you remove _YourPants_ ;)

The normal practice is to use a dummy class C address range. These addresses do not appear on the Internet and where a LAN using these addresses connects to the Internet a system called NAT (Network Address Translation) is used. This enable upto 250 PCs to use a single real Internet IP address. Use an address such as 192.168.100.1 with a mask 255.255.255.0 giving a range of addresses for other devices from 192.168.100.1 to 192.168.100.254

Not sure if you're talking IP address or Domain name ("web address"). If it's the doamin name issue (where you must pick your domain name during DC promotion), then you can use something like domainame.local (instead of domianname.com).

or if you want, just for sh*ts & giggles you can name it whatever you damn well please, it wouldnt make a difference because outside DNS servers wouldnt pick it up so you wouldnt have anything directed at you and if you name it like microsoft.com you will have to put the entries in your dns server to go to www.microsoft.com (the real address) but it can be done however you plesae behind your router... to get stuff outside of your router, you will need to register domain name and w/ 2 dns servers and have them point to your machine.

I agree with Haxer, I had this same issue come up before on my first win2k DC setup and I got around it by assigning that same DC as the primary DNS server and then doing as Maurice Reed pointed out. -Cheers and goodluck!