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Gennady Vanin Геннадий Ванин
Asked: 2010-08-11 10:41:26 +0800 CST

how to share the same domain machine account with multi-boot workgroup Windows setup?

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Having read in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/154501/EN-US/ (How to disable automatic machine account password changes):

"You have two separate installations of Windows NT or Windows 2000 on the same computer in a dual-boot configuration. In this case, the only way to share the same machine account between the two installations of Windows NT or Windows 2000 is to use the default machine account password that is created when you join the domain"

I have the following questions:

  1. What is the process of sharing "the same machine account between the two installations of Windows"?
  2. If to share account then why it cannot change password from non-default to a "normal" (automatically changed) one?

I am developer using on the same dual-bot Windows: one AD joined computer Windows (under domain user account) and another is workgroup (i.e. non-joined to domain) Windows.

It is XOR-ed, either one or another (of course) what is inconvenience. Is it possible to share AD machine account from workgroup Windows session?

Everybody tells that it is impossible> But why? Having read http://blogs.msdn.com/aaron_margosis/archive/2009/11/05/machine-sids-and-domain-sids.aspx (Machine SIDs and Domain SIDs) and other similar topics in this field, I cannot understand why it is impossible?

windows installation active-directory boot

3 Answers

  1. First question is answered in the article you linked to. About the second question, if machine A changes the password won't machine B have the wrong password?

    Also, what is the motivation for this setup? It seems non-standard and contrived. Why does it even matter what machine account the workgroup instance uses?

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  2. As I understood from parallel discussions in SF, workgroup Windows Administrators group cannot have "Domain Admins" while the latter is being pushed from DC on domained Windows client Administrators group (by default GPO), etc., etc..

    So, this is generally not viable.
    My question

    is also pending. What is being changed in local Administrators group by joining a machine to domain.

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  3. It is possible.

    To do it, install once, join domain, and clone installation.

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