Change password for users with blank password: Error

[Ihit]

I’m running a Windows Server 2003 with AD, there are about 100 users connected to this domain among which few users have blank password due to some reason. Now, what I am planning to do is implement password policy for every users, where each user will need to have atleast 8 character password. Hence I created a password policy in test AD to see if its working fine. The policy is as follows:

Enforce password history 0 passwords remembered
Maximum password age 0
Minimum password age 0 days
Minimum password lenght 8 characters
Password must meet complexity requirements Disabled
Store passwords using reversible encryption Disabled

To make it application I ran gpupdate / force on the DC and set the option “User must change password at next logon” for all users who are currently having blank password. But instead I get the following error message:

“The following Active Directory error occured: Unable to update the password. The value provided for the new password does not
meet the length, complexity, or history requirement of the domain.”

Please help.

[Zachary]

I don’t know what could be reason for the error message but what you can also do the same using Command Line as follows:

Set objUser = GetObject _
("LDAP://CN=myerken,OU=management,DC=Fabrikam,DC=com")

objUser.Put "pwdLastSet", 0
objUser.SetInfo

You can get more info about the same here: gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/7e44bd45-f49f-4e47-ae00-b18f544e478f

[Ihit]

Thank you very much for the help Zachary.

It works - will use scripting then - thanks a lot!

[Domi.nick]

Alternatively you can simply set the option "User must change password at next logon" before changing the password policy.