HELP! Password Expired & Must Be Changed but Access Denied when trying to do so

[GHFJeanie]

Hi,

I have an HP 5740e thin client and for some reason the local user account is requiring a password change.  Yet, when I try to change the password it says Access Denied.  And further, I can't get it to allow me to switch to a different account like Administrator to login.  I've held down the SHIFT key when booting, but it still goes straight to that local user account & the expired password prompt. I'm stuck in an endless loop and don't know how to get out of it.  Safe Mode puts me into the same situation.  And I can't update BIOS because I can't get in at all.

OS = Windows Embedded Standard 7

I've also tried to reinstall the latest image off the HP website using a USB drive but it fails every time. I've tried 2 different USB drives with same exact error no each. 

Image trying to install = SP56020

ERROR:  An unexpected condition occurred

Does anyone have a suggestion?

[GHFJeanie · Accepted solution]

I was finally able to get in as Administrator using RDP from my desktop.  I didn't realize that the thin client name was missing a digit so that's why I was unsuccessful prior to this.

Once I got in remotely, I was able to look at the permissions for the local user account.  Now I see what was wrong.

[Checked]      User cannot change password

[Unchecked] Password never expires

I still don't know why I couldn't install a new factory image, but at least I'm now able to work with this unit.  I also disabled the auto login for now.

Sorry to have littered the Forum!