Microsoft KB Archive/197175

= Error Message: The Password of This User Is Too Recent to Change =

Article ID: 197175

Article Last Modified on 1/23/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows 98 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 95
 * Microsoft Windows 95
 * Microsoft Windows 95

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This article was previously published under Q197175



SYMPTOMS
When you try to change your password for the Microsoft Client for Microsoft Networks, you may receive the following error message:

The password of this user is too recent to change.

When this occurs, the password is not successfully changed.



CAUSE
This behavior can occur for any of the following reasons:

 The existing password must remain in place for a minimum number of days. This minimum number of days is a feature of Microsoft Windows NT and can be set using the User Manager tool in Windows NT.  Strong passwords are required by the Windows NT server. Attempting to change the password to a password that does not qualify as a strong password generates the error message. Strong passwords must meet the following requirements:

- Passwords must be at least six characters long.

- Passwords must contain characters from at least three of the following four classes:

        Description                             Examples --        English uppercase letters               A B C ... Z        English lowercase letters               a b c ... z        Westernized Arabic numerals             0 1 2 ... 9        Non-alphanumeric (special) characters  ,. ?

- Passwords may not contain your user name or any part of your full name. 



MORE INFORMATION
For more information about strong passwords and how to enable them, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: 161990

TITLE : How to Enable Strong Password Functionality in Windows NT

Keywords: kberrmsg kbenv kbnetwork kbprb KB197175

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