We just installed our first server in our office, with MS Windows Server 2003. We created a domain and each of our computers is now set up as a member of the domain. Previously we were set up as a peer-to-peer Workgroup. I have a laptop, so when I work in the office I login to the domain. But when I'm working on my laptop out of the office, I'm not able to connect to the domain, as I'm not connected to the network. So, how do I login to my laptop when I'm not connected to the domain? I tried yesterday, but it wouldn't let me login with my domain user name & password. So then I logged in to the local computer using the username and password I previously used for my workgroup. This worked, but the problem is that now I do not have access to the files and documents that are stored in my domain account. I'm sure there must be a clean way to work with the laptop in standalone mode. Can someone tell me the best way to do this?

Thank you for your advice.

-Steven

First, there's a mistake in your domain configuration. Your local computer should cache your domain credentials for days, allowing you to log on as the domain user even when not connected to the network. (I've seen this most often when users or computers are added to a 2003 small business server without running the wizard. Even done "correctly" in active directory, if you don't run the wizards, you'll have multiple wierd network/profile issues). Improper group policy settings and not joining the laptop to the domain can also create this problem. Fix the cache issue so your domain credentials are cached on your local machine. This is the "clean" way you're looking for.