(How) can I join a workgroup while remaining on a domain in Windows 7?

Question

I learned (the hard way) that joining a workgroup while on a domain removes you from a domain. I need the computer connected to the domain so it can connect it's internet, but I would like to connected to the workgroup for file/printer sharing, etcetera. To re-join the domain I need administrative privileges (on the domain) which I don't have.

Answer 1

Simple answer is that you can't - the system is either a domain member or a workgroup member.

Long answer is that you probably don't need to. You can probably get away with just keeping it on the domain.

I have never had any problem accessing shared resources hosted by non-member systems from a domain-joined system; that is to say, you don't need to be a member of the workgroup in order to use its shared resources - you just need to have valid credentials for the non-domain server you're accessing.

Likewise, I've never had any trouble accessing shared resources hosted on domain-joined servers from non-domain systems; typically, you just need to provide domain-based credentials when accessing the particular resource. For instance, you could use this command line to map a network drive hosted on a domain member server from a non-domain client system:

net use x: \\memberserver\sharename /user:domain\username

You can use this approach with graphical tools as well.

I can't guarantee this sort of thing will work in all network configurations, but it's always worked for me.

Answer 2

Simple answer: You can't.

You can have either a domain or a workgroup.

Answer 3

Upon joining a domain, your system uses the domain for things such as authentication and group policy. The way Windows accomplishes browsing is by essentially using the NETBIOS version of the domain as a workgroup.

If you are able, you can give the non-domain workgroup the same NETBIOS name as the domain (so if your domain is example.com use the workgroup example) which will enable browsing in the way I think you are looking for.

Answer 4

This can be done...from this link 'how to' at Tom's hardware

I do this kind of thing all the time, and it's not too difficult. First off, even if your machine is on a domain, there is nothing stopping you from connecting to network resources in your workgroup even if your machine is not in that workgroup. As long as you can resolve the names of your home or church computers, you can connect.

If you want to go to the next step and have quite different profiles for home/church and work, you can do this:

Leave your computer in the domain used at work. Go to Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Local Users and Groups, and create a user. This is the user you will use for home and church work. Of course, you'll need local admin access to your machine to do this. You may also want to add this new user to the local Administrators group. Also, you can even use the same username as you do at work.

So when you get to work, you log in as fiber_todd, selecting your work domain in the "Domain" drop-down at the point of login. When you are at home our church, you log in as fiber_todd but select the local computer in the "Domain" drop-down. That way you won't affect your work profile when at home and you can even have different web proxy settings that match your needs at home if they are different from work.