HOW TO ADD WINDOWS 10 TO A DOMAIN

Adding Windows 10 to a domain is a straightforward task. Here are the step-by-step instructions on adding a Windows 10 computer to a domain by using the GUI and through PowerShell.

Windows 10 is a great consumer operating system with lots of useful end-user features; but it also provides a lot of functionality that business users will love as well. A business-ready operating system typically means being part of an Active Directory domain. As with any Windows OS later than Windows NT, Windows 10 can be easily added as a domain member. In this article, we go over a couple of ways to add a Windows 10 computer to a domain—both via the graphical interface as well as via the command line.

First of all, to add a Windows 10 computer to a domain requires a few prerequisites. First, you'll obviously need to have a domain to connect to. This requires at least one Active Directory domain controller that must be at Windows Server 2003 or higher. This should not be a problem for most businesses, but it is worth stating. Also, you'll need to have a user account that is a member of the domain. By default, any user account can add up to 10 computers to the domain. And finally, you must have Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise. Any of the consumer editions of Windows 10 cannot be added as a member to a domain

Adding Windows 10 To A Domain Using The GUI

Let's first focus on adding Windows 10 to a domain via the graphical interface. To do this, you'll need to get to the Settings box. One way to do this is by clicking on the Search bar and typing in Settings. Once you're here, you'll then click on System.

Next, you'll need to click on About and then on the Join a domain button.

From here you specify the domain you'd like to join.

Then, you specify the username with rights to add a computer to the domain and click OK.

You then, optionally, have the ability to specify the user that will be using this computer.

And finally, you'll be prompted to reboot to finish the task