I have seen some of your computing.net responses and believe you may be able to help me if you are willing. I am trying to set up server 2K3 SBS on a Power Edge 420 SC server for a friend. His business is small they are on a workgroup cable modem router and a switch, 8 machines all XP Pro and Home… They do have a web site that is hosted by someone else and would like there new server to host it instead, but the main problem is they want the server to be a file server and later add to it Web hosting, print, etc. I had installed the Server 2k3 and ran dcpromo it did not like the domain name I gave it … aqua.local.com but when I was finished I can access the server on the workstations but only through view work group computers and then going to the server then typing the admin account name and password… I would like to get them set up so when they log in to the workstation it also logs them into the server. The workstations will not let me change it from a workgroup to a domain. Domain invalid… Am I going about this all wrong? I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could assist me. I do have quite a bit of computer training and windows XP and Networking background, I have even taken the class for the server 2K3 MCP, but they do not teach you how to set up a server as a workgroup using dhcp only in an existing domain setting… Do they need to register a domain name??? Do they already have a domain name because they have a web site already (it is just hosted by another company) Am I out of my mind??? And out of my league? Thanks a million times in advance…

I'm not 100% sure on this so don't quote me, but I don't think you can run dcpromo on 2003 SBS. I haven't installed 2003 SBS so I'm not positive, but I do know with 2000 SBS, you can't. After the install is finished and you do the final boot to the OS as soon as you log in it asks you to put the 2000 CD to continue the promotion to DC process. If 2003 SBS is the same as 2000, that would explain why it didn't like your domain name...because you tried running dcpromo. The doc's that came with your 2003 SBS should tell you, if not, check on microsoft's web site. If that is the case (you need to promote using the CD instead of dcpromo), then you'll have to wipe the drive and start over again. This could also be what's causing your other problems. Once you've properly created your domain controller, you'll have to add the clients to the domain. You do this on XP clients by opening System Properties and click on the Computer Name tab. Then you click on the Change button. Once that window opens, click on the More button and enter your DNS suffix in there. Then click OK to close that and enter your domain name in the Domain field (after clicking the appropriate radio button). Then you will be prompted during for an account name/password that has rights to add clients to the domain. Once it's done correctly, you will log onto the domain when you log onto the PC with your domain user account. NOTE: you'll also have to create the user accounts for the users.