The Initial Configuration Tasks window is used to perform the most fundamental or routine operations of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2. This window displays when the computer starts. If you don't want to come up like that, click the bottom check box. If it doesn't come up when the computer starts, to restore this window, click Start -> Run, type oobe and press Enter.

After installing the operating system, there are a few things you should (must) do before continuing:

• You must make sure the computer is connected to the Internet
• If this is the first computer, you must make it a domain controller (this is not a requirement if the computer will not be a domain controller; if you don't (yet) know what a domain controller is, don't worry about that now)

A computer network has to be managed. Some aspects can be done manually and some others electronically. In order to do anythinig, you must have a user account that can perform the necessary tasks. Such an account must have appropriate rights on the network.

To create the primary account to manage the network, on the server:

1. Click Start -> Administrative Tools -> Active Directory Users and Computers (if a message box comes up, click Continue)
2. If necessary, in the left frame, expand the name of the domain.
   Click Users
3. In the left frame, right-click Users -> New -> User
4. Type the first name of the user and press Tab. If you have a middle initial, type it and press Tab
5. Type the last name
6. Click the User Logon Name text box and type a user name. Here is an example:
    

   

7. Click Next
8. In the next page of the wizard, type the password as Password1
9. Press Tab and type the same password. Here is an example:
    

   

10. Click Next

    

11. Click Finish

Some of the operations you will perform on the network require that the account have the appropriate rights (also called permissions). An administrator's account is one that can do anything on the network, such as creating users accounts or adding computers to the network.

To make a user account become an administrator, on the server:

1. Click Start -> Administrative Tools -> Active Directory Users and Computers
2. In the left frame, expand the domain's node
3. Click Users
4. Double-click the user name whose rights you want to manage (or right-click that user name and click Properties)
5. Click Member Of
6. Click Add...
7. In the bottom text box (where the caret is blinking), type admin.
8. Click Check Names
    
   
9. Make sure Administrators is selected and underlined.
    
   
   
   Click OK
10. Click OK

To use the network, a user must log in. This is done by provinding a user name and a password. If this is the first time you are logging in, you may be asked to change your password.

If you are logged but you want to use another account, you can switch to another account. To do this:

1. Click Start -> Switch User
2. Press CTRL + ALT + DELETE
3. Click Other User
4. Type the user name (such as the one you created earlier) and press Tab
5. Type the password (such as Password1 if you are continuing from the account created earlier) and press Enter
   1. If this is the first time you are logging in, a message will tell you that you must change the password. Click OK
   2. Type a good password for the account and press Tab
   3. Type the password again and press Enter.
      A message will inform you that your password has been changed
   4. Click OK

After creating a domain, you can can add client computers to it. In our examples, we will add workstations that run Microsoft Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, or Enterprise. There are two actions to adding a client to a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 domain but only one is required.

Before physically or electronically adding a client to a domain, you can first create a computer account for it. To create a computer account, you can also click Start -> Administrative Tools -> Active Directory Users And Computers. This would open the Active Directory Users and Computers window. In the left frame, expand the name of the domain. Right-click the name of the domain -> New -> Computer. This would open the New Object - Computer dialog box. In the Computer Name text box, enter the name of the computer. The operating systems before Windows 2000 don't use very long names. Therefore, when naming a computer, keep this in mind and give a name made of fewer than 15 characters. After naming the computer, click Next twice and click Finish.

Instead of right-clicking the name of the domain, in the Active Directory Users And Computers, you can expand the name of the domain, right-click the Computers node -> New -> Computer. As mentioned already, in the first page of the New Object - Computer wizard, you can type a name for the computer. Here is an example:

Then click OK. After creating an account for a computer, you can add it to the domain. Actually, primarily creating an account for a computer is not required.