Microsoft KB Archive/177125

= User Cannot Log On to LAN Because of RAS Logon Failures =

Article ID: 177125

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q177125



IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information on how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" online Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" online Help topic in Regedt32.exe.



SYMPTOMS
When you attempt to log on to your local area network (LAN), you may receive the following error message:

Unable to log you on because your account has been locked out, please

contact your administrator.

NOTE: This error may occur even though you have not previously failed any logon attempts.



CAUSE
With the Account Lockout feature in Windows NT enabled in User Manager, unsuccessful attempts to log on to the network through a Remote Access Service (RAS) connection will trigger the lockout. This prevents you from logging on to the LAN.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

This fix introduces a new feature called Remote Access Account Lockout Manager (RAALM), which resolves the above problem by separating the two lockout mechanisms. By making the RAS lockout count lower than the Account Lockout, failed RAS logon attempts will not affect a user on the LAN from logging on to the domain. This is done by the RAALM revoking the dial-in permissions of the user.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" online Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

After you have applied the above fixes, follow these steps:

 If your primary user account database is on the RAS Server, skip to Step 2. If not, follow these steps:

 Install the Remote Access Account Lockout Helper service by running Raslock.exe at a command prompt. In Control Panel, open Services, and then select Remote Access Account Lockout Helper, and click Startup. Click Log On As This Account and enter an account and password that has appropriate permissions to edit user accounts, such as Administrator or Account Operators.  Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe).</li> Go to the following registry subkey:

</li> Edit the value MaxDenials to the number of consecutive bad password attempts before locking out the account.

NOTE: The default value of 0 disables RAS account lockout.</li></ol>

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STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 4.

Keywords: kbhotfixserver kbqfe kbbug kberrmsg kbfix kbnetwork KB177125

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