[aklug] [Solved-basically] Re: Re: Windows question: this account is locked

On 10/11/2010 01:17 PM, Kevin Miller wrote:
> Christopher Howard wrote:
>>
>> There does not seem to be any such option when I right click on the
>> account, or if I right click and select properties. However, an
>> "Account is locked out" box is checked.
>
> Hmmm. Which version of XP? Home or Pro? Each behaves differently.
> Further, they'll also put up different options depending on whether
> you're logging in locally or domain.
>

No idea, to be honest. There doesn't seem to be a /proc/version file. :)

>
>> If I uncheck this box, and then I try to reset the password through
>> the "User Accounts" control in the Control Panel, Windows still does
>> not let me change the password (same error). Then, when I go back to
>> the account properties, I see the "Account is locked out" box is
>> checked again.
>>
>> If I right-click on the account (From the Computer Management window)
>> I do see a "Set Password" option. However, if I click on it, it tells
>> me that information will be irreversibly lost and that I should not
>> use that method except as a last resort, which makes me afraid to
>> proceed. Is it okay to set the password that way?
>
> Not sure. I'd hazard a guess that it's one of those generic warnings
> where if you change the account while it's active it might cause a
> program to lose access to whatever it's doing. I.e., it's probably safe
> to do it, and the lawyers are just covering their butts, but I don't
> really know.
>
> Is the system backed up? Maybe dd the disk so you have a fallback?
>
> These are the things that make me love Linux!
>
> ...Kevin

I went ahead and tried resetting the password through the "set password"
option. I googled this, and apparently it is only a problem if you have
EFS folders, or if you have personal certificates, which didn't seem to
be the case here.

This did allow me to change the password, and now everything seems to be
working fine, except for one thing: Now the OS is not doing the
automatic login anymore. This is a small inconvenience, but does not
affect device performance. I'll ask the Windows techies about it after
they get back.

Thanks for the help, all.

-- 
Christopher Howard
http://frigidcode.com
http://theologia.indicium.us
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