You receive a "The system cannot change your password now because the domain is not available" error message on a Windows XP-based or Windows 2000-based computer (890953)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional 64-Bit Edition (Itanium)

SYMPTOMS

If you try to change your password on a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer or on a Microsoft Windows 2000-based computer, you receive the following error message:
The system cannot change your password now because the domain is not available.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if the NTLM protocol cannot determine the correct user account when it is given an alternative domain name suffix in the user principal name (UPN).

This problem typically occurs if the following conditions are true:
  • The network environment contains a forest trust between two forests.
  • You try to use the alternative domain suffix from one forest to change your user name in another forest.
For example, consider the following scenario:
  • Your network environment includes two Microsoft Windows Server 2003 forests that have a two-way Kerberos trust between them. A two-way Kerberos trust is a Federated Trust. In this scenario, the forests are named Forest A and Forest B.
  • The computer accounts exist in Forest A, and user accounts exist in Forest B.
  • The Active Directory domain of Forest A is ABC.COM. Forest A also has the additional DEF.COM UPN suffix.
  • UPN Name suffix routing is enabled in the trust.
  • Forest-wide authentication is enabled in the trust.
The following actions occur:
  1. A user from Forest B logs on to a Windows XP Professional-based workstation, or to a Windows 2000-based workstation. The workstation exists in Forest A with the username@EXAMPLE.COM user credentials.
  2. The user presses CTRL+ALT+DEL, and then clicks Change Password.
  3. The User name box is populated with username@EXAMPLE.COM.
  4. The user types the old password, types the new password, confirms the new password, and then clicks OK.
  5. The user receives the following error message:
    The system cannot change your password now because the domain is not available.

RESOLUTION

Windows XP hotfix information

A supported hotfix 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 hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, 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.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) 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 XP, 32-bit versions
Date         Time   Version        Size     File name
------------------------------------------------------
07-Dec-2004  13:14  5.1.2600.2578  132,608  Msv1_0.dll
Windows XP for Itanium-based computers, 64-bit versions
   Date         Time   Version            Size    File name
   --------------------------------------------------------------
   10-Jan-2005  23:13  5.1.2600.1618     374,784  Msv1_0.dll       IA-64
   10-Jan-2005  23:06  5.1.2600.1618     122,368  Wmsv1_0.dll      x86

Windows 2000 hotfix information

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 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

No prerequisites are required.

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 file attributes) 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
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6876    388,368  Advapi32.dll
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6866     69,904  Browser.dll
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6824    134,928  Dnsapi.dll
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6876     92,432  Dnsrslvr.dll
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6883     47,888  Eventlog.dll
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6890    143,632  Kdcsvc.dll
   10-Mar-2004  18:37  5.0.2195.6903    210,192  Kerberos.dll
   20-Sep-2003  16:32  5.0.2195.6824     71,888  Ksecdd.sys
   15-Oct-2004  10:16  5.0.2195.6987    513,296  Lsasrv.dll
   25-Feb-2004  15:59  5.0.2195.6902     33,552  Lsass.exe
   13-Jan-2005  02:04  5.0.2195.7020    117,520  Msv1_0.dll
   10-Jun-2004  08:58  5.0.2195.6949    309,008  Netapi32.dll
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6891    371,472  Netlogon.dll
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6896  1,028,880  Ntdsa.dll
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6897    388,368  Samsrv.dll
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6893    111,376  Scecli.dll
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6903    253,200  Scesrv.dll
   05-Jan-2005  20:29  5.0.2195.7017  6,278,656  Sp3res.dll
   14-Oct-2004  20:33  5.5.33.0           6,656  Spmsg.dll
   14-Oct-2004  20:38  5.5.33.0         169,984  Spuninst.exe
   23-Mar-2004  18:17  5.0.2195.6824     50,960  W32time.dll
   20-Sep-2003  16:32  5.0.2195.6824     57,104  W32tm.exe

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

When you use Active Directory with Microsoft Windows Server 2003, you can use alternative UPN suffixes. For example, a user account in a domain that is named "Contoso" may have the following valid logon names:
  • contoso\user1
  • user1@contoso.com
An alternative UPN suffix makes it possible for you to create additional valid account names.

By specifying a list of alternative UPN suffixes, the user1 account can have additional ways of specifying a logon name. For example, the user1@example.com logon name can be mapped to the original logon name of contoso\user1. For additional information about the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:4/7/2006
Keywords:kbQFE KBHotfixServer kbWin2000preSP5fix kbWinXPsp3fix kbWinXPpreSP3fix kbfix kbbug KB890953 kbAudITPRO
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