Windows 98 Client Cannot Change Password

ID: Q230059

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0, 4.0 SP4

SYMPTOMS

When you try to change your password on a Windows 98 client at logon, you may receive the following error message:

Unable to change the password for Microsoft Networking because of the following error: This device does not exist on the network.

When you attempt to change your Microsoft Networking password using the Passwords tool in Control Panel, you may receive the following error message:

Access has been denied

When you attempt to change passwords using the Chgpass.exe or Setpass.exe tool, you may receive the following error message:

Could not change password. Unexpected error (1b5a).

CAUSE

This behavior is caused by a setting that is enabled in the Securdc4.inf file. When this template is enforced on a computer, it enables the "Digitally sign server-side communication when possible" setting. This enables the following setting in the registry on the server:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManServer\Parameters\EnableSecuritySiignature

This involves the way the client and server negotiate over SMB, as described in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q161372 How to Enable SMB Signing in Windows NT

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue:

Disable the "Digitally sign server-side communication when possible" setting in the Securdc4.inf file.

Save the Securdc4.inf file as another .inf file (for example, as Securup4.inf).

Load the new settings into the registry by using the following command:
"c:\winnt\system32\secedit.exe /configure /cfg c:\winnt\security\templates\securup4.inf /db c:\winnt\security\database\secedit.sdb /log c:\temp\secedit.log"
NOTE: This is a single command. It has been wrapped for readability purposes.

Restart the primary domain controller. Windows 98 clients should then be able to change the domain passwords.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kberrmsg
Version : WINDOWS:; winnt:4.0,4.0 SP4
Platform : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type : kbprb