One unsuccessful logon attempt may trigger the default Windows NT lockout policy (271496)

SYMPTOMS

If you are logging on to a Microsoft Windows NT or Microsoft Windows 2000 domain from a workstation that is running Windows 98, or Windows 98 Second Edition and an account lockout policy is configured to lock out domain user accounts after a certain number of incorrect logon attempts, your account may be locked out after only one attempt to log on with an incorrect password.

This problem may occur if the Active Directory Client Extension (DSClient) pack is installed on the Windows 98 or Windows 98 Second Edition client computers to enable the directory services functionality.

CAUSE

This problem can occur when you log on to an Active Directory domain if multiple connections are needed to determine which Windows 2000 Server-based computer is the domain controller that is used to log on the Windows 98 or Windows 98 Second Edition client. Each connection counts as a logon attempt even though you only try to log on one time by using the user interface.

RESOLUTION

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone 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.

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.

   Date          Time        Version       Size     File name   Operating system
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Sep-19-2000   1:24 P.M.   4.10.0.2228   25,423   Dfs.vxd     Windows 98 SE

Note These file dates are in Month/Day/Year format. File times are in Pacific time (PST, or GMT -8:00).

MORE INFORMATION

This fix eliminates one of the server connections; only two connections are established during the logon process. A user can attempt to log on two times before triggering an account lockout policy of three failed attempts.

For additional information about Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition hotfixes, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: