Joining a Workstation to Active Directory
Create a workstation account and join a Windows or Mac workstation to Active Directory.
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For Active Directory support, create a ticket. Active Directory training is also available upon request at edp.uark.edu.
Creating a Workstation Account
Using a domain account that is a member of your OU Admin group, launch "Active Directory Users and Computers," and perform the following steps:
- Open the Start menu and search for "Active Directory Users and Computers." Press Enter.
- Navigate to your OU. Click Action, then New, and then Computer.
- Enter the NetBIOS name of the workstation in the Computer name field.
Note: IT Services recommends that computer names start with the four-letter department, followed by a dash and the Dell ID tag or other unique description. - (Optional) Click Change to add the computer to the domain.
- Click OK.
Joining a Windows Workstation
The workstation's NetBIOS name must be the same as the machine account created in the above steps prior to following these instructions. To change a computer name, leave it in a workgroup and reboot prior to joining the uark.edu Active Directory.
To join a workstation to Active Directory in Windows:
- Log into the workstation as the local administrator.
- Open the Start menu and search for File Explorer. Press Enter.
- Right-click This PC and select Properties.
- Click Change settings. Click Change.
- Select Domain and enter "uark.edu." Click OK.
- Enter your UARK email address and password. Click OK.
- When prompted, restart the computer.
- Log in as the local administrator and add domain users to the appropriate local groups.
Joining a Mac Workstation
Mac workstations joined to Active Directory may experience authentication issues when connected to older or misconfigured multi-port switches. The Mac's computer name must match the name used in the "Creating a Workstation Account" section.
To join a workstation to Active Directory using Mac OS X:
- Log into the workstation as the administrator.
- Open System Preferences. Click the "User & Groups" icon.
- Click the lock icon at the bottom left to allow changes. Enter the administrator password and click Unlock.
- Click Login Options. Make sure the following settings are selected:
- Automatic login: Off
- Display login window as: List of users
- Show fast user switching menu as: Account Name (this box must be checked)
- Click Join. Click "Open Directory Utility."
- Click the lock icon at the bottom to allow changes. Enter the administrator password and click Modify Configuration.
- Double-click Active Directory.
- In the "Active Directory Domain" field, enter "uark.edu."
- In the Computer ID field, enter the computer name that was used when creating the workstation account.
- Expand "Show Advanced Options."
- In the User Experience tab, make sure the box "Force local home directory on startup disk" is checked. Click Bind.
- Enter your UARK username and password. Click OK.
- When prompted to join an existing account, click OK.
- Restart the computer. At the login screen, select Other to log in with UARK credentials.