ARCHIVED: In Windows 95 and 98 PPP (Dial-up Networking), why doesn't the Save Password option work?

For Windows 95 and 98 PPP, follow the appropriate directions below to troubleshoot when your Save Password option isn't working.

The Save Password option is available but doesn't seem to work

Make sure that you have successfully connected to the remote system at least once, with the box checked; the password won't actually be saved until you do this. If you have more than one user profile on the computer, you must connect to the remote host successfully at least once per profile before the option will work with all of the profiles.

The Save Password option is not available (the box is grayed out)

A variety of problems can cause this. Try the following steps in order:

1. Make sure you are logging into Windows:
   1. When the Windows login screen appears, do not click Cancel.

      Note: If you are not prompted to log into Windows when the computer starts, from the Start menu, click Log Off....

   2. At the Windows login screen, make sure that a username appears in the "User name:" field.
   3. Enter your Windows password.
   4. If you do not have a Windows password, you can enter one now, or simply leave this field blank to create a "null" password.
   5. Try to log into the remote system and save the password. If this doesn't work, proceed to the following step.
2. Change your computer name to the login ID for PPP (at IU, this is your username):
   1. From the Start menu, click Settings, then Control Panel.
   2. Double-click Network, and select Identification.
   3. Change the name, click OK, and then restart your computer. The name change will take effect after the computer restarts.
   4. Try to log into the remote system and save the password. If this doesn't work, proceed to the following step.
3. Reinstall Dial-up Networking:
   1. From the Start menu, click Settings, then Control Panel.
   2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs and select Windows Set.
   3. Select Windows Setup and double-click Communications. Then remove the checkmark in the Dial-up Networking box.
   4. Click OK twice, and restart your computer. After your computer has rebooted, put the checkmark back in the Dial-up Networking box (it may ask you to insert the Windows 95 or 98 CD-ROM).
   5. Try to log into the remote system and save the password. If this doesn't work, proceed to the following step.
4. Install the Client for Microsoft Networks:
   1. From the Start menu, click Settings, then Control Panel.
   2. Double-click Network. If the Client for Microsoft Networks is not on the list of installed components, select Add.
   3. Select Clients, then Microsoft, then Client for Microsoft Networks.
   4. Click the Add button, then click OK. It will prompt you to insert the Windows 95 or 98 CD-ROM. Do so, then restart your computer. The change will take effect after the computer restarts.
   5. Try to log into the remote system and save the password. If this doesn't work, proceed to the following step.
5. Rename your Windows password file:

   Each user on the computer will have a file in the Windows directory called username.pwl, where username is the person's username. Change the name of your .pwl file to username.old, replacing username with your username. When you restart Windows and log into your computer with that username, you will be asked to input a new password and confirm it.

For more information about this bug, see articles 148925 and 137361 in the Microsoft knowledge base.