Password - Prevent or Allow to Change

How to Prevent or Allow a User to Change their Password in Vista and Windows 7

information   Information
This will show you how to Allow or Prevent a selected User Account from being able to change their password from within User Accounts in the Control Panel (Classic View).
Note   Note
By default in Vista and Windows 7, users are allowed to change their passwords.

EXAMPLE: "Windows cannot change the password" Message
NOTE: This is the message a user will get after trying to change their password if their option to change password is set to disabled.
Message.jpg



METHOD ONE
Through Local Users and Groups

1. Open the Local Users and Groups manager.​
2. In the left pane, click on Users. (See screenshot below)​
3. In the middle pane, right click on the user account you want to do this with and click on Properties.​
lusrmgr.jpg

4. To Prevent the Selected User from Changing their Password
A) Check the User cannot change password box. (See screenshot below step 6)​
B) Go to step 6.​

5. To Allow the Selected User to Change their Password
A) Uncheck the User cannot change password box. (See screenshot below step 6)​
NOTE: This is the default setting.

6. Click on OK. (See screenshot below)​
Properties.jpg

7. Close the Local Users and Groups manager window.​



METHOD TWO
Through an Elevated Command Prompt

NOTE: This method is for all Vista and Windows 7 editions. This method was provided by Dwarf. Thank you Dwarf.
2. To Check the Change Password Status for a User
A) In the elevated command prompt, type the command below and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​
NOTE: Substitute user name in the command below with the user name in quotes that you want to see the change password status of.
net user "user name"

B) To the right of User may change password, you will see either Yes (allow) or No (prevent) for that user name. (See screenshot below)​
Check_Status.jpg

3. To Prevent the Selected User from Changing their Password
A) In the elevated command prompt, type the command below and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​
NOTE: Substitute user name with the user name in quotes that you want to prevent from be able to change their password.
net user "user name" /Passwordchg:no

B) If the command was successful, you will now get a successfully completed message. (See screenshot below)​
Prevent_User.jpg

C) Verify the change with step 1.​
D) Go to step 5.​

4. To Allow the Selected User to Change their Password
A) In the elevated command prompt, type the command below and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​
NOTE: Substitute user name with the user name in quotes that you want to allow to change their password.
net user "user name" /Passwordchg:yes

B) If the command was successful, you will now get a successfully completed message. (See screenshot below)​
Allow_User.jpg

C) Verify the change with step 1.​

5. Close the elevated command prompt.​
That's it,
Shawn


 

Attachments

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Last edited:
Why is your username not there?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett Packard
    CPU
    3.40Ghz / 2.20Gz Duo Core
    Memory
    2GB / 3GB
    Hard Drives
    160 GB / 160 GB
Hi Fmjc001,

It is: User_Name ;)

I made mine to this so folks will know where to look for their user name instead.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Oh, Ok. When i change my username I get all sorts of messages about security errors and policies lol.

Just thought you had a special computer for making tutorials or something :geek:

Thanks for the reply :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett Packard
    CPU
    3.40Ghz / 2.20Gz Duo Core
    Memory
    2GB / 3GB
    Hard Drives
    160 GB / 160 GB
I have not had my computer very long and have only had access to the internet for about 2 weeks. my son helped setup the internet and at the same time we changed the password. now both of us have forgotten the password he put in the system. it should not be as difficult to get into the computer as this is proving to be. I do not like Vista. someone needs to think about what the everyday person who will be using the system and make a backdoor of some kind for people like me who have very busy lifes and might forget a stupid password!!!!!!!:mad:
 

My Computer

I have not had my computer very long and have only had access to the internet for about 2 weeks. my son helped setup the internet and at the same time we changed the password. now both of us have forgotten the password he put in the system. it should not be as difficult to get into the computer as this is proving to be. I do not like Vista. someone needs to think about what the everyday person who will be using the system and make a backdoor of some kind for people like me who have very busy lifes and might forget a stupid password!!!!!!!:mad:

Can you not use another account to change the password?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett Packard
    CPU
    3.40Ghz / 2.20Gz Duo Core
    Memory
    2GB / 3GB
    Hard Drives
    160 GB / 160 GB

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
is this possible in all vista versions? when i click on advanced option i got a message saying "this computer is not runing home basc and that this complement can not be used with this version...i ..but my computer is runing home basic
 

My Computer

Hi Mike,

My apologies. lusrmgr.msc is only available for the Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Here is an addition to the above Tutorial. The method here works for ALL versions of Vista.
Click on the start orb and type cmd into the search box and press and hold Ctrl, Shift and then press enter/return. You will need to provide administrative credentials to continue. At the prompt , type the following: net user dwarf followed by enter/return. Here is what I get for this command:
Capture.JPG
Notice the line User may change password. This is currently set to No.
Again at the command prompt, type the following and press enter/return: net user dwarf /Passwordchg:Yes. Here is what I get with that command:
Capture1.JPG
Finally, repeating this command: net user dwarf
Capture2.JPG
Notice the line User may change password is now set to Yes.
If you wish to prevent the changing of a password, use this command: net user dwarf /Passwordchg:no
Capture3.JPG
Note that I have used my user name Dwarf throughout this explanation. You will, of course, need to substitute the correct user name here.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Thank you Dwarf. This method has been added to the tutorial to help others.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Here is an addition to the above Tutorial. The method here works for ALL versions of Vista.
Click on the start orb and type cmd into the search box and press and hold Ctrl, Shift and then press enter/return. You will need to provide administrative credentials to continue. At the prompt , type the following: net user dwarf followed by enter/return. Here is what I get for this command:
View attachment 8221
Notice the line User may change password. This is currently set to No.
Again at the command prompt, type the following and press enter/return: net user dwarf /Passwordchg:Yes. Here is what I get with that command:
View attachment 8222
Finally, repeating this command: net user dwarf
View attachment 8223
Notice the line User may change password is now set to Yes.
If you wish to prevent the changing of a password, use this command: net user dwarf /Passwordchg:no
View attachment 8224
Note that I have used my user name Dwarf throughout this explanation. You will, of course, need to substitute the correct user name here.

I opened that window and at the line about changing password is set to yes, but I still cannot change password. When I try to change password I get an error that my current passsword is wrong while it is correct one
 

My Computer

Hello L4UR4, and welcome to Vista Forums,

From your other post, see if you can change the password for the log on automatically settings to the same password that you use to log on manually for that user account. You will need to check and uncheck the box (in auto link above) to be able to change the password.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
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