Can I reset the password in my cached Active Directory profile?

January 8, 2008 2:45 PM

Can I somehow reset my profile's cached Active Directory password in XP?

I used to work for a company full time, but now I freelance for them. I work from home, and yesterday I received my old laptop back. It's been a couple months so I don't remember the password for my account on their Active Directory domain. I call up helpdesk and they reset it on their end. But, my laptop isn't connected to their network so it is still using the original password for my account.

So, I log in as local admin and fire up the VPN client (Nortel Contivity ver 4) and get in ok. Then I logout, and try to login to the domain but it doesn't work. I go back in as local admin and see that the VPN client stopped running when I logged off the first time.

Well, every other time (a dozen times in the last 3 years with the same network and VPN client) the VPN client would stay connected when I logged off. That way I could get it running as one user, then come back in as another and get the "new and approved" credentials. It looks like I can't do that now for some reason

So what I need to is somehow reset the cached password my domain account on the laptop, so I can log in and start the VPN client to get to the domain controller and get the "real" credentials. Is this possible?

posted by sideshow to computers & internet (8 comments total)

I would recommend trying the "fast user switching" functionality of XP.

KB Article 279765 explains how to use this feature.

When Fast User Switching functionality is turned on in Microsoft Windows XP, and you click Log Off on the Start menu, you have the option to click a Log Off button or a Switch User button.

If you click the Log Off button, you will quit all running programs and disconnect all network connections for the current session, and the session will not remain active.

If you click the Switch User button, all active programs and network connections will continue to run (the session remains active), and you will return to the Welcome screen, where other users can log on. The user's session will remain active until the computer is restarted or the user is logged off of the session.
posted by MrHappyGoLucky at 2:53 PM on January 8, 2008

Looks that "Fast User Switching" doesn't work with machines that are part of a domain:

However, Fast User Switching is not available on Windows XP Professional-based computers that are part of a domain network.

posted by sideshow at 3:04 PM on January 8, 2008

*Sigh* I should have known that or at the very least caught it. I used to help users do this very thing all the time.

Just brainstorming now, can you log in as the local admin, fire up the VPN, and then issue a run as command to attempt to cache the credentials?

runas /user:mydomain\myusername cmd

You should be prompted for a password (your new, changed password) and a new command line window should open up.

I'm just not sure if this will actually cache the credentials though.
posted by MrHappyGoLucky at 3:15 PM on January 8, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Hey, it worked! Thanks, you just saved me a trip to the old office.
posted by sideshow at 3:24 PM on January 8, 2008

The other thing you can do is to connect via VPN with new password, then CTL + ATL + DEL -> Lock Computer. When you CTL + ALT + DEL to unlock, XP will talk to the AD and replace your old credentials with the new.
posted by sardonista at 3:43 PM on January 8, 2008

@Sardonista

That would only work if he could remember his old password and needed to synchronize the cached password with the password in Active Directory.
posted by MrHappyGoLucky at 3:46 PM on January 8, 2008

You can also use the "Log on using dial-up networking" when you first log in to the machine. There should be an option for this after you hit control alt delete, and before you press enter. It should be a check box near the bottom. You would use the new password that you were assigned, then it will ask what vpn connection you want to make. You enter the new information again to dial in. The PC will then use the new password to log you in to the machine. It will save it to the cache. That is that same thing I have my remotes do to change their password.
posted by Climber at 8:57 PM on January 8, 2008

@Climber

My VPN connects through the Nortel Contivity Application, not the Microsoft VPN client. That means I have to login and then run an app.
posted by sideshow at 8:33 AM on January 11, 2008