Module 6: Build and Join CLIENT01

Time to give the domain its first member. In this module you build a Windows 11 machine, watch it pick up an address from your DHCP server, and join it to lab.internal.

In This Module

• Create the CLIENT01 virtual machine with TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled
• Install Windows 11 Enterprise with a local account
• Install VirtualBox Guest Additions and Windows updates
• Take the CLIENT01 clean-build snapshot before joining the domain
• Confirm CLIENT01 received its IP address from your DHCP server
• Join CLIENT01 to the domain
• Log in with a domain account

Create the Virtual Machine

Windows 11’s official system requirements include TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot capability. VirtualBox can provide both to the VM.

1. In VirtualBox Manager, click New.

2. Fill in the first screen:

   • Name: CLIENT01
   • ISO Image: browse to the Windows 11 Enterprise ISO from Module 1
   • Choose a manual installation. Depending on your VirtualBox version, check Skip Unattended Installation or clear Install OS Using Unattended Installation

3. Expand the Hardware section:

   • Base Memory: 4096 MB
   • Processors: 2
   • Check Enable EFI or UEFI, depending on the VirtualBox version

4. Expand the Hard Disk section and set the size to 64 GB (the Windows 11 minimum). Click Finish.

5. Before starting the VM, open Settings > System and confirm:

   • TPM Version: 2.0
   • Enable Secure Boot: checked (this option only appears when EFI is enabled)

   VirtualBox usually sets these automatically when it recognizes a Windows 11 ISO, but verify. If either is missing, the installer will refuse to run.

6. Open Settings > Display > Screen and move the Video Memory slider to the maximum. This gives the Windows desktop more display memory and can make the interface feel smoother.

7. Go to Settings > Network and set Adapter 1 to NAT Network, name ADLab. Click OK.

Note

Make sure DC01 is running before you start CLIENT01, and keep it running for the rest of this module. CLIENT01 depends on it for its IP address, DNS, and the domain itself.

If your host has only 8 GB of RAM, leave CLIENT01 at 4096 MB and temporarily reduce DC01 to 2048 MB whenever both VMs must run. Change memory only while a VM is powered off. DC01 will be slower at this setting, so keep other applications closed and restore its normal memory allocation when CLIENT01 is not running.

Install Windows 11

1. Start CLIENT01 and press a key when prompted to boot from the ISO.
2. Choose language and keyboard, then continue through the install. The evaluation does not ask for a product key.
3. Choose the Custom install option, select the empty drive, and let the install run.
4. After the reboots, Windows setup asks for your country and keyboard, then connects to the network. If prompted, choose Set up for work or school.
5. At the organization sign-in step, choose Sign-in options > Domain join instead. The wording may vary slightly between Windows 11 releases. Despite its name, this option creates a local account; it does not join the domain during setup.
6. Create a local user (for example localadmin) with a password you will remember, answer the security questions, and decline the optional privacy toggles if you want. Windows finishes setup and lands on the desktop.

Install Guest Additions

Same as on DC01: Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD image, run VBoxWindowsAdditions from the CD drive in File Explorer, accept the defaults, and reboot.

Run Windows Update

Before joining the domain, bring the client up to date:

1. Open Settings > Windows Update.
2. Click Check for updates and install all available updates.
3. Restart when prompted, then check again until no additional updates are offered.

Take the CLIENT01 Clean-Build Snapshot

Before joining CLIENT01 to the domain, save one clean checkpoint:

1. Shut down CLIENT01 from inside Windows.
2. In VirtualBox Manager, select CLIENT01 and open Snapshots.
3. Click Take and name it Clean install - before domain join.
4. Start CLIENT01 again.

Keep this snapshot as a client rebuild point. If CLIENT01 becomes unusable later, restore this clean snapshot and repeat the domain join. Do not take additional snapshots after the client joins the domain.

Confirm DHCP Worked

This is the payoff from Module 5. Open a Command Prompt and run:

ipconfig /all

Check these settings in the Ethernet adapter section:

• IPv4 Address: somewhere between 10.0.10.100 and 10.0.10.200
• Default Gateway: 10.0.10.1
• DHCP Server: 10.0.10.10
• DNS Servers: 10.0.10.10

Then confirm that CLIENT01 can find the domain controller by name:

nslookup dc01.lab.internal

The answer should show 10.0.10.10.

That address came from DC01. You can see the other side of the transaction on DC01: open the DHCP console, expand the scope, and click Address Leases. CLIENT01’s lease is listed there.

If the address starts with 169.254 instead, the machine got no DHCP response. Check that DC01 is running and that both VMs are attached to the ADLab network, then run ipconfig /renew.

Join the Domain

You will rename the computer and join the domain in one step.

1. Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, and press Enter.
2. On the Computer Name tab, click Change.
3. Set Computer name to CLIENT01.
4. Select Member of: Domain and enter lab.internal.
5. Click OK. When asked for an account with permission to join, enter LAB\Administrator and the DC01 Administrator password.
6. A “Welcome to the lab.internal domain” message appears. Click OK, then restart when prompted.

If the join fails, first confirm that DC01 is running and that ipconfig /all lists 10.0.10.10 as CLIENT01’s DNS server. See the troubleshooting appendix if the problem continues.

Log In with a Domain Account

The login screen still offers your local account, but now the machine also accepts domain accounts.

1. On the login screen, click Other user.
2. Sign in as LAB\Administrator with the DC01 Administrator password.

The first login takes a minute while Windows builds the profile. To prove you are on the domain, open a Command Prompt and run:

whoami

It returns lab\administrator. You are logged in to CLIENT01 with an account that lives on DC01. That is Active Directory doing its job.

This guide uses the domain Administrator account once to verify the join. Privileged accounts should not be used for routine desktop work. Module 7 creates normal user accounts for later sign-in testing.

Further Learning

• VirtualBox System Settings explains the VM settings used for UEFI, Secure Boot, TPM, memory, processors, and display configuration.
• Join a Computer to a Domain covers Microsoft’s supported graphical and command-line domain-join methods.

Checklist Before Moving On

• CLIENT01 got an address in the 10.0.10.100 to 10.0.10.200 range from DC01
• CLIENT01’s lease appears in the DHCP console on DC01
• Windows Update reports no additional updates
• Clean install - before domain join snapshot taken
• nslookup dc01.lab.internal returns 10.0.10.10
• CLIENT01 is joined to lab.internal
• whoami after a domain login returns lab\administrator

Continue to Module 7 to create the users, groups, and folder structure of a small company.