Users Receive a Password Complexity Requirements Message That Does Not Specify Character Group Requirements for a Password (821425)

SUMMARY

When you set the Passwords must meet complexity requirements policy setting, and a user logs on to the computer or to a domain and types a password in the Change Password dialog box that does not meet the complexity requirements, the user receives the following message:Your password must be at least x characters; cannot repeat any of your previous x passwords; must contain capitals, numerals or punctuation; and cannot contain your account or full name. Please type a different password. Type a password which meets these requirements in both text boxes. This message is expected behavior when a user tries to change the password and the password does not meet the complexity requirements that you set. However, some of the content of the message may be confusing to some users because it does not explicitly specify that the password must contain at least three of the following four character groups:

English uppercase characters (A through Z)
English lowercase characters (a through z)
Numerals (0 through 9)
Non-alphabetic characters (such as !, $, #, %)

MORE INFORMATION

After you apply the hotfix that is documented in this article, a user receives the following message when he or she tries to change the password to a password that does not meet the complexity requirements that are specified in the password policy: The password supplied does not meet the minimum complexity requirements. Please select another password that meets all of the following criteria:

is at least x characters;
has not been used in the previous x passwords;
does not contain your account or full name;
contains at least three of the following four character groups:

English uppercase characters (A through Z);
English lowercase characters (a through z);
Numerals (0 through 9);
Non-alphabetic characters (such as !, $, #, %)

Hotfix Information

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows Server 2003 service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites

This hotfix requires that you have installed one of the following operating systems:

Windows Server 2003
Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3)

Restart Requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix Replacement Information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File Information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003

Date         Time   Version      Size       File name
------------------------------------------------------
29-May-2003  09:56  5.2.3790.42  1,187,328  Msgina.dll

Windows XP

Date         Time   Version        Size     File name
--------------------------------------------------------
27-May-2003  11:15  5.1.2600.1226  969,216  Msgina.dll
27-May-2003  08:50  5.1.2600.1226  527,872  Xpsp2res.dll

Windows 2000

Date         Time   Version        Size       File name
--------------------------------------------------------
02-Jun-2003  10:15  5.0.2195.6751    333,072  Msgina.dll
29-May-2003  12:22  5.0.2195.6748  4,576,256  Sp3res.dll