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slappytheslug

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AD User accounts appear as locked out in ADUC

This is a new one on me and everyone I know:  All my Windows Server 2003 R2 Active Directory user accounts appear locked out in ADUC but aren't, and the object properties show the option to unlock the accounts on the Account tab as disabled.  No other properties on any other tabs seem to be affected.  This is true even when logged in as the root admin account.  Domain structure is pretty flat, one forest, one domain in the forest.  Using a command line utility, I can unlock accounts that are actually locked out, and can enumerate all the user accounts without issue.  Domain level GPO has account lock-out for 30 minutes after 3 tries, with count reset after 29 minutes.  All FSMO roles held by 2003 server, with 3 Win 2K AD servers essentially acting as backups (migrating to 2003 across the board).  The 2003 AD server has been in producton since August without issue.  The Win 2k AD servers have been in production for anywhere from 2 to 5 years.  No obvious errors in any of the event logs on any of the DCs.  Please help!
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slappytheslug

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I changed the account lockout duration to 0 minutes after discovering this issue was domain-wide, and prior to discovering a command line work-around.  Currently, the checkbox on the Account tab in the user object properties that you'd normally uncheck to unlock a user account has "Account is locked out" next to it, and the whole line (including the checkbox) is greyed-out.  I will change the GPO Account lockout duration value back to its original setting and test lockout with a test user account per your recommendation.  I'll report my findings later today - thanks!
I deliberately locked out a test account as recommended and it showed up normally in the ADUC GUI.  I was able to unlock it from there as well.  Perhaps my initial issue was exacerbated by my changing the lockout duration in the root GPO.  Thanks for suggesting this test.  Should have thought of it myself...