Can't log onto XPPro after creating Workgroup

I was following instructions to network my wife's XP Pro laptop and my
W98SE desktop and have possibly created a big problem. I was told to
make the Workgroup name on both computers the same and create a User on
my computer with the same name & password as my wife's.

So I looked to see the Workgroup name on hers, saw it was set to a
domain, changed it to a workgroup and gave it a name - and created the
same Workgroup name on mine, then created a User on mine with the same
username & password as hers. However after rebooting hers and doing
the Ctrl+Alt+Del to log on, the usual password for the user name was
rejected, and it said to check the username and domain were correct.
Yikes! I can't change it back from the Workgroup to the domain if I
can't get it logged in to Windows.

She's usually on a network at work, as you've probably gathered. Since
I changed it to a Workgroup, is there a different logical username? I
didn't set any new usernames or passwords. In Identity I did note the
full name of her computer and the domain name prior to making the
change, if that's any help.

karlengel@excite.com

wrote:

> I was following instructions to network my wife's XP Pro laptop and my
> W98SE desktop and have possibly created a big problem. I was told to
> make the Workgroup name on both computers the same and create a User
> on my computer with the same name & password as my wife's.
>
> So I looked to see the Workgroup name on hers, saw it was set to a
> domain, changed it to a workgroup and gave it a name - and created the
> same Workgroup name on mine, then created a User on mine with the same
> username & password as hers. However after rebooting hers and doing
> the Ctrl+Alt+Del to log on, the usual password for the user name was
> rejected, and it said to check the username and domain were correct.
> Yikes! I can't change it back from the Workgroup to the domain if I
> can't get it logged in to Windows.
>
> She's usually on a network at work, as you've probably gathered.
> Since
> I changed it to a Workgroup, is there a different logical username? I
> didn't set any new usernames or passwords. In Identity I did note the
> full name of her computer and the domain name prior to making the
> change, if that's any help.

Yes, you did make a mistake but it can be fixed. First, your wife will
need to take her machine to work and have it rejoined to the domain by
her IT Dept. There is no way around this. After her machine is back in
her work domain as it belongs, when she wants to use the laptop at home
she should do the following:

Information from MVP Lanwench: You don't need to change to a workgroup
just to access resources on it. You shouldn't play with your laptop's
network settings at all. Once you've logged in using your domain
account (using cached credentials), and have an IP address on the home
network, you can map drives, use printers, whatnot, very easily - one
way, in a command line:

net use x: \\computername\sharename /user:computername\username <enter>

MS KB article about the Net Use command - http://tinyurl.com/3bpnj

Also see:

Managing One Windows XP-based Laptop for the Office and Home by MVP
Charlie Russel
http://tinyurl.com/cpy9q
and
http://winhlp.com/wxdomainworkgroup.htm - MVP Hans-Georg Michna

Your Windows machines do not need to be in the same Workgroup to share
files and resources. Workgroups - unlike domains - are just an
organizational/cosmetic device.

In the meantime, if there is a local account on the laptop (non-domain)
and your wife knows the password, she can log into that and use the
computer over the weekend. The login for a domain member computer has a
little drop-down arrow offering the choice of logging into SomeDomain
or ThisComputer. The latter is the local account. If she can't log into
the local account, there are certainly ways of getting in but I
strongly suggest she *not* do this since it will irritate her IT Dept.
and she needs them to fix your mistake. If you see what I mean.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Malke