Hello this is Tony DeCock, Content Lead for Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). Welcome to our first IIS Support Voice column! This month's topic is how to use the Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) to find information about scenarios for how to use the IISADMPWD password change pages. Some readers asked about this topic, and it is also a frequent topic in calls and in searches on the Microsoft Web site.

It can be confusing to deal with symptoms that are related to setting up and configuring the IISADMPWD password change pages if you do not know what they are used for or how to configure the password change pages.

Because the goal of this column is to demonstrate how developers can use the KB, this column includes a typical troubleshooting scenario that is related to this topic. While this list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of scenarios, the behavior that is related to the IIS password change pages can be done in the following ways:

• Clients changing their passwords via Microsoft Outlook Web Access (most common)
• Direct access to password change pages via IIS
• Basic IIS setup for password changes
• Hotfixes for IIS password change pages

Changing password via Outlook Web Access

The first KB query is for a scenario where a client is changing his or her password via Outlook Web Access by clicking Tools, clicking Options, and then clicking Change Password. Start by specifying that you want developer-related articles to be returned in your search. To do this, use the IISADMPWD keyword to start the search. Next, add the OWA keyword. The following list includes the keywords:

• The IISADMPWD keyword refers to all the versions of the IIS password change pages.
• The OWA keyword refers to the fact that the client is using Outlook Web Access to change the password.

In this scenario, the following list contains brief descriptions of the most common articles:

• 315579  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=315579/ ) "HTTP Error 403" error message when password changed with OWA or Iisadmpwd
• 833734  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=833734/ ) FIX: You experience various problems when you use the Password Change pages in IIS 6.0
• 297121  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=297121/ ) Using the Change Password feature with Outlook Web Access
• 331834  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=331834/ ) Change password functionality replaced with Active Server Pages
• 894825  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=894825/ ) Troubleshoot problems with the Password Change pages that are included in IIS

Try this query in the KB search tool at Microsoft Help and Support. To view Microsoft Help and Support, visit the following Microsoft Web site: When you try this query, you should get a focused result. Make sure that you click All of the words entered and Full Text when you run your search.

All articles in the result set describe possible issues with setting the password via Outlook Web Access.

Changing password directly via IIS pages

The second KB query is for a scenario where a client is changing his or her password directly via IIS pages. Start by specifying that you want developer-related articles to be returned in your search. To do this, use the IISADMPWD keyword to start the search. Next, add the IIS keyword. The following list includes the keywords:

• The IISADMPWD keyword refers to all the versions of the IIS password change pages.
• The IIS keyword refers to the fact that the client is using IIS to change the password.

In this scenario, the following list contains brief descriptions of the most common articles:

• 269082  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=269082/ ) IISADMPWD virtual directory is not created during clean install of IIS 5.0
• 894825  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=894825/ ) Troubleshoot problems with the Password Change pages that are included in IIS
• 331834  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=331834/ ) Change password functionality replaced with Active Server Pages
• 831047  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=831047/ ) FIX: You experience various problems when you use the Password Change pages in IIS 5.0

Try this query in the KB search tool at Microsoft Help and Support. To view Microsoft Help and Support, visit the following Microsoft Web site:When you try this query, you should get a focused result. Make sure that you click All of the words entered and Full Text when you run your search.

All articles in the result set describe possible issues with setting the password via IIS.

Basic IIS setup for password changes

Basically, when you install IIS, the IIS installation files create an IISADMPWD directory that you need to reference by having or creating a virtual directory in the default Web site in IIS Manager. These files are located in the C:\<SystemDirectory>\system32\Inetsrv\Iisadmpwd directory.

Note These files have been updated for all versions of IIS via hotfixes.

Hotfixes for IIS password change pages

Call Microsoft Product Support Services to receive the hotfixes for your version of IIS. The hotfixes that you will need are by the version of IIS that you are running.

IIS 4.0 running on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a (SP6a) is not a supported product, but you can reference the following article: IIS 5.0 running on Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4)IIS 6.0 running on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 without Service Pack 1 (SP1)Windows Server 2003 SP1 already has the newest files included. But if you get hotfix 833734 and you already have Windows Server 2003 SP1 installed, you will get the following error: If you want to install the newest files anyway, you can do the following steps:

1. Call Microsoft for hotfix 833734.
2. Extract the files from the hotfix.
   
   At a command prompt, run the /x command switch to extract the files from the hotfix cabinet self-extractor file, WindowsServer2003-KB833734-v5-x86-ENU.exe, to the C:\<systemroot>\system32\inetsrv\iisadmpwd folder.
3. Replace the existing files in the IISADMPWD directory.
4. Register the Iispwchg.dll file from the hotfix.

Note We strongly recommend that all users upgrade to IIS 6.0 running on Windows Server 2003. IIS 6.0 significantly increases Web infrastructure security. For more information about IIS security-related topics, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Additional search queries

If you already know that you have IIS configured and updated to the latest hotfixes and patches, then you might search the KB from a different perspective. In this case, use any error codes to search for more detailed information related to the issue.

Here is a list of KB articles related to password change issues:

• 315579  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=315579/ ) "HTTP Error 403" error message when password changed with OWA or Iisadmpwd
• 894825  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=894825/ ) Troubleshoot problems with the Password Change pages that are included in IIS
• 296617  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=296617/ ) Error when password changed after password change utility installed
• 892078  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=892078/ ) Users receive a "The user name or password is incorrect" error message if they try to connect to a SBS 2003-based computer by using the Remote Web Workplace feature
• 331834  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=331834/ ) Change password functionality replaced with Active Server Pages
• 328128  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=328128/ ) OWA password change displays %iis.REMOTE_USER% in account field

Note To access the KB, visit the following Microsoft Web site: If you have never read the forums on the IIS 6.0 Web site, visit the following Microsoft Web site: These forums can save you a lot of time, and many of the people who are responsible for the information that is included in the KB visit these forums to determine what issues their customers are facing.

If you read any of the previous columns, you are familiar with the format. If not, you may want to view the following "General search tips" section. Each installment of this column ends with a list of general search tips. Hopefully this information helps you use the KB more productively.

General search tips

When KB articles are created, they have specific product elements and keywords that are associated with them. If you know the keywords that are associated with a product or a technology, use those instead of the more generic English terms during your initial searches. This typically offers a bit more precision than just stringing together words or phrases. The following is a list of tips that should help improve your experience with the KB:

• When you visit the Microsoft Help and Support Web site, click Search the Knowledge Base, and then try to limit your search by selecting the most relevant product. For example, type IIS and not Internet or All Products.
• When you search the KB, you can narrow down the types of articles that are returned by including the IIS keyword. This keyword filters your search to only include IIS-related content so that you do not have an article about troubleshooting Microsoft Internet Explorer issues.

Until next time, when you can look forward to other IIS Support Voice columns,

Tony DeCock, MCSE, MCSA
Content Lead, Microsoft Developer Support


Tony DeCock is an IIS Content Lead for the Developer Support Content Team and has been working with the IIS group in Microsoft Product Support Services. He is currently MCSE certified in Windows 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003.

As always, feel free to submit ideas on topics you want addressed in future columns or in the Knowledge Base using the Ask For It (http://support.microsoft.com/common/survey.aspx?scid=sw;en;1176&p0=&p1=&p2=&p3=&p4=) form.