I'm the sole IT technician at a small company (around 80-100 employees), and I've been learning on the go. Recently, while setting up new laptops, I ran into a device limit issue with a test account I was using. In a panic, I deleted that account's devices from Entra, thinking it wouldn't cause issues. Unfortunately, this action affected about 20 users who had their laptops set up with this account as the local admin, leading to errors in Outlook and Teams. I managed to temporarily fix the issue using dsregcmd /forcerecovery, but now some users are facing a new error (657rx). I'm trying to figure out if I should remove and re-add their work accounts and how to set up these laptops without using the test account as a local admin. Any advice on how to navigate this situation and best practices for the future would be greatly appreciated!
5 Answers
Welcome to the club! It’s a rough start, but we've all been there. For your issue, when you set up laptops, consider just creating a local admin account during the OOBE process. That way, you can add the device to Entra without it being tied to the test account. For the immediate fix, try rejoining the devices under the users’ accounts directly if you haven’t already.
You’re definitely hitting the 'device ownership' issues with Intune. Ideally, users should log in with their own accounts right from the start, which prevents complications. Have you looked into using Autopilot or a similar tool for smoother laptop setups? It sounds like your current method could use some streamlining.
Yeah, I've heard Autopilot can save a lot of hassle. Definitely worth exploring once you get through this mess.
Reimaging and re-adding is a solid way to address these issues. If you’re using Azure, make sure files sync to OneDrive so they aren’t lost during the process. It can take some effort now, but it might save a lot of headaches later on!
Trust me, we've all had our moments of panic in IT! Your colleagues are back online, which is a plus. Just keep learning and don't hesitate to ask for help. Looking ahead, setting up an MSP for emergencies could really take some pressure off you.
Totally agree! Having support in place can make a huge difference during these rough patches.
Honestly, it sounds like you might want to consider bringing in a consultant. There are quite a few elements in your process that could lead to more headaches down the line. You've done well to restore functionality for now, but if these errors keep popping up, it could disrupt your team further. Just a suggestion!
I get that some IT issues stem from management, but if you're flying solo, it might help to have professional support to smooth things over.
That sounds like a solid plan! Keeping devices separate from the test accounts is definitely a safer route.