Can a VM Join a Domain Without Rebooting?

Unfortunately, joining a domain typically requires a reboot due to the changes it makes to the system. What are you trying to achieve with this setup? Maybe we can find a workaround or alternative for you!

Yeah, the reboot requirement for domain joining is something that's unlikely to change anytime soon. However, some hypervisors provide options for Windows guest customization. You could also consider setting up a template VM with all the necessary unattended configuration. If you're using cloud services, they offer similar capabilities, and often include ways to inject custom scripts during first-run.

You mentioned trying unattend.xml but didn't get into the specifics. Can you describe what you did? Depending on how you're deploying the image, you might explore an offline domain join method. This involves creating a join blob with djoin.exe from a connected machine, possibly your VM host, and then applying it to a mounted disk image during the offline phase.

Exactly! You can perform an offline domain join using djoin.exe, which can be set up on a connected machine. After generating the join blob, you can mount the VM disk and run djoin against it, specifying the mounted image path. This way, when the VM boots up, it’ll already be joined to the domain. It does take a little more preparation, but it’s definitely possible!

Just to reiterate, joining a domain generally needs a reboot at some point. It’s a fundamental aspect of how the process works.