Connecting to a Local Share Using Cached Credentials Is Unsuccessful in Windows NT 4.0 SP4 and SP5

View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q231934

SYMPTOMS

When you log on to a Windows NT computer using cached domain account information, you cannot connect to share points defined on the local computer using your cached credentials.

If you try to connect to a local share using cached credentials, you are prompted for a password. After you type a password, the connection attempt is unsuccessful and you receive a "bad password" or "unknown user name" or error messages. However, you can still connect to local share points using locally defined user accounts.

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CAUSE

This problem is a result of the application of the LSA2-FIX security hotfix. The LSA2-FIX is a Windows NT 4.0 post-Service Pack 3 hotfix that is also included in Service Pack 4 and Service Pack 5.

When the LSA2-FIX is applied, connections to share points are allowed only if a domain controller is available to revalidate your cached credentials. This is incorrect behavior. Your cached credentials should be accepted as valid, and the connection attempt should succeed, as long as your domain account has appropriate access rights to the share point.

For more information about the LSA2-FIX security hotfix, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

184017 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/184017/EN-US/ ) Administrators Can Display Contents of Service Account Passwords

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RESOLUTION

Windows NT Server or Workstation 4.0

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0 or the individual software update. For information on obtaining the latest service pack, please go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=E396D059-E402-46EF-B095-A74399E25737&displaylang=en/ (http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/ServicePacks/) -or-
152734 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/152734/EN-US/ ) how to obtain the latest windows nt 4.0 service pack

For information on obtaining the individual software update, contact Microsoft Product Support Services. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;en-us;cntactms)

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Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

152734 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/152734/EN-US/ ) How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

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WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, connect to local share points using a locally defined user account after you log on with cached domain account credentials. For example, type the following command:

net use \\computername\sharename /user:computername\username password

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 6.

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