Solve a Windows XP login problem in a NetWare network

by Jason "Hiner MCSE, CCNA" | Dec 09, 2004 8:00:00 AM

Tags: Operating systems, Workstations, network, Novell NetWare, Jason Hiner MCSE, CCNA, Novell Inc., Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows XP, workstation, Windows XP Machine

12 comment(s)

Takeaway: If you are running a NetWare network without a Windows domain, you'll notice that users will have a difficult time logging into a Windows client machine, even if their NetWare credentials are correct. See what needs to be done to solve this issue.

Problem

TechRepublic member karini4 posed this question in the Technical Q&A: "I have a Novell 6.5 SBS with a Windows XP machine using Novell client 4.90 and another with 4.90 SP2. Both of these clients require the user to log in to the server. If the user has an account on the Windows machine, it works okay, but if they don't, Windows XP prompts for a Windows password. How can I make the Windows XP machines take the Novell login username and password regardless of who it is � as long as they are authenticated on the server?"

Solution

The best answer was provided by ross.bale: "Through the logon process, the Novell client also needs to authenticate the user onto the workstation to be able to access workstation resources � files, printers, etc. If the Novell user doesn't have a user account on the local machine, the login to Windows XP will fail (but the Novell logon would be okay). Assuming that you do not have a Windows domain or another form of central authentication apart from NetWare, you will need to create a user account on each workstation for each user that uses that workstation (i.e., if a user needs to access 10 machines, you will need to create the local user account and password on each of those 10 machines)."

The day after ross.bale's post, karini4 responded, "I added the appropriate users to the Windows XP machine, being very careful to spell their names exactly like their Novell usernames. It seems to be working fine."