Tech

Preventing password expiry on Windows 7 Home

I provide occasional IT support to neighbours. This week's request was harder to resolve than it should've been, so here's a quick summary for anyone who

Problem: Windows prompts me to change my login password every 42 days.

Desired outcome: I don't local users' passwords to ever expire.

Solution:

1. Click the Start button
2. Type cmd then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter
3. Select "Run as Administrator" (you'll need to enter your password here)
4. In the command-line window, type net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited then press Enter
5. Type exit to quit the command-line window

Notes: Absurdly, Microsoft don't provide a graphical user interface for adjusting this setting on "Home" versions of Windows 7, hence the need to dive into the command-line. Running net accounts without further options will show the current settings.