Why Does Windows Request a New Password Occasionally?
Depending on how your Windows User Account was created, Windows may ask you to change your login password occassionally, sometimes every 42 days. This is a security feature aimed at businesses. If you are a home user, this password request feature may not be helpful.
How Can I Stop This from Happening?
Follow the instructions below to download a program to correct this problem. You will either need to be logged on as an Administator, or have the Administrator's password.
Steps
- Click on the ZIP File attached to this article.
![](/kb_upload/image/wpp-download.png)
- When prompted, click on Open to automatically open it when it has downloaded.
![](/kb_upload/image/wpp-open.png)
- When it has downloaded, another box will appear.
- Double click on "Stone_User_password_Policy_Unlimited.exe".
![](/kb_upload/image/wpp-open2.png)
- After double clicking, you might get one or two security prompts. Click on Run, or OK, to accept the warnings.
![](/kb_upload/image/wpp-run.png)
![](/kb_upload/image/wpp-run2.png)
- If you are prompted for your password, enter your Administrator username and password. If you don't get prompted for your password, just accept any security warnings or click on Run.
- The Stone User Password Policy Update Program will appear.
![](/kb_upload/image/wpp-start(1).png)
- Click on OK to confirm that you would like the change to be made.
- A message will then come back confirming that the change has been completed.
![](/kb_upload/image/wpp-done.png)
More Information
For more technical users, these changes can also be made from an Administrative command prompt.
To disable passwords being reset every 42 days:
net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited
![](/kb_upload/image/wpp-net-unlimited.png)
To put the default setting of 42 days back:
net accounts /maxpwage:42
To see what the current setting is:
net accounts
![](/kb_upload/image/wpp-net-42.png)
The NET Accounts method above, as well as the attached utility, change the setting for all users of the PC, as it is a global setting and not just for the user that is logged on at the time.
Tip for creating new user accounts: If you ever create a new user account with a password, use the Control Panel "User Accounts" option for doing this, to prevent accounts being created that automatically have passwords that expire.
Applies to:
- All systems running Windows 7