How to configure a home\office laptop

[zen]

Just wondering what the best setup is for a laptop that will be used both at home and at the office.

Dell Inspiron 600M
Windowsxp Pro

When setting up the laptop for the first time, you create the local user w/admin rights.

Then when you join a domain, that user is set up as user.domain, with different folders, desktop and such.

How should this be set up? If the user goes home and off the domain, do they still log on to the domain even though they can't to retain all the My Documents and desktop icons and such in that profile?Or do they log on to the actual computer, which changes everything? Keeping e-mail,printers and docs in sync is the problem.

I'm hoping to make this as easy as possible for the laptop user.

[Steve R Jones]

I'd use different logins. Other wise, you'd have to tweak your tcp/ip settings EVERYTIME you switch offices.

Can create folders on C: to store docs and such..

[muno]

Why would the tcp/ip settings need to be tweaked? I take my laptop from office to home every day, and never change any setting (excluding clicking a little button to directly access internet without a proxy server)

I don't see why you would need anything spectacular, you just select the login domain - either local computer or the domain it works in.
-M

[edwelly]

WinXP will just assign itself an IP address and your will still use the same folder %username%.domainname folder - I can't remember but I think the internal IP address is 168. x x x - we have this set up her at work as well -
---edwelly

[muno]

Internal ip addressing is 169.254.x.y
(which is what I've used in my internal networks since forever)
-M

[zen]

Yes but switching between local logon and domain logon gives you a different desktop, My Documents and such, no?

Can I keep the 2 in sync?

[muno]

Doesn't w2k allow logging in with cached profile? I know that's how we do it here with novell client ontop of w2k.

That way you would be able to logon to domain even without the domain - however, as I set my laptop to standby mode I rarely login anywhere, like once in a week or so.
-M

[zen]

I tried using the domain logon without the cable attached and it boots fine without a pdc present.

But if the user perhaps wants to use dial-up at home, will it still work?That is if I enable the dial up "whenever a network connection is not present."

I just need to keep the desktop, docs, and apps the same between diff logons, if its possible.

[vass0922]

I use Win2k Prof
I created my profile while attached to the domain.
When I go home I have a wireless connection to the broadband.
When I log in from home, I login to a cached account as stated above.

I have the same profile on and off the domain
My profile name is just my username.
I think it would only create name.domainname if you create the profile at home, and then attach to the domain with a domain account. So essentially having two different users with the same username as far as the laptop is concerned.

bottomline...
Create the profile while attached to the domain, then you should be able to logon from home as needed on a cached account


SRJ, if you're on DHCP thats not really an issue. If you're on different Network adapters entirely (much like I am) is the best solution.

[zen]

Thanks muno and vass!
I muddled through Technet forever without an answer.
I figured there was a better way, than redirecting folders and such.

Create the profile while attached to the domain, then you should be able to logon from home as needed on a cached account

Great!