Leading or Trailing Spaces in Password Are Discarded and Ignored (303795)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP1
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP2
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP1
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP2
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP1
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP2
Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server SP2

This article was previously published under Q303795

SYMPTOMS

When you create a new user account by using the Local Users and Groups snap-in, the specified password may not be created correctly. Attempts to log on with the newly created user account may generate the following error message:

The system could not log you on. Make sure your User name and password are correct, then type your password again. Letters in passwords must by typed using the correct case.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if there are leading or trailing spaces in the password. These spaces are ignored. If you create an account with leading or trailing spaces, the password is saved without the leading or trailing spaces.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date          Time   Version        Size    File name
   --------------------------------------------------------
   19-July-2001  15:45  5.0.2195.3888  230 KB  Localsec.dll

WORKAROUND

A possible workaround is to right-click the newly created user account, and then click Set Password after the account has been created successfully. This dialog box preserves any leading or trailing spaces.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Windows 2000 Service Pack 3.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about how to obtain a hotfix for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

265173 The Datacenter Program and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Product

For additional information about how to install multiple hotfixes with only one reboot, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

296861 Use QChain.exe to Install Multiple Hotfixes with One Reboot

For additional information about how to install Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 hotfixes at the same time, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

249149 Installing Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 Hotfixes

Note that leading and trailing spaces in passwords are "legal" and can be used for a successful logon. This does not apply to domain controllers.

Modification Type:	Minor	Last Reviewed:	9/26/2005
Keywords:	kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbbug kbfix kbSysAdmin kbWin2000PreSP3Fix kbWin2000sp3fix KB303795