SQL Server 2005 will, by default on Windows Server 2003 systems, enforce password policies for SQL Server logins as well as Windows logins. Nice feature, but this means that your SQL Server login password can expire. So how do you change it? Well certainly the DBA can change it as (s)he always has, but you'd hate to bother your DBA every 42 days. Never mind what the DBA would think of that… And the user interface programs, SSMS and SQLCMD don't yet provide that feature. Neither does Visual Studio 2005 Server Explorer.
The functionality does exist in the supported database APIs. That is ADO.NET, OLE DB, and ODBC. With ADO.NET you have to be using 2.0, with OLE DB and ODBC the new SNAC providers are required. In ODBC, there is a new connection option SQL_COPT_SS_OLDPWD. In OLE DB there's an Old Password connection string parameter. In ADO.NET 2.0 SqlClient it's a static method on SqlConnection called (amazingly enough) ChangePassword. It takes to strings as input and here's how it works.
You change your connection code to use a loop, like while conn.ConnectionState == ConnectionState.Closed. Loop as many times as you like, most folks will probably loop twice. Bracket your calls to Open with a try-catch block. In the catch block, look for the following error codes:
18487 – Password Expired
18488 – Must change password on first login
If you get one of these call ChangePassword. You'd think that the parameters are "old password, new password". They are not. The first parameter must have enough information to connect to the server, including at minimum server name, your userid and your old password. The second parameter is just your new password. This changes your password, now change your connection string and Open again.
There are a couple of repercussions/refinements to this:
1. You obviously shouldn't even think about keeping password in the program, if you ever did this before. Check out my MSDN article for the built-in place to keep connection strings now.
2. This can only be used to change passwords on a SQL Server 2005 server. And only SQL Login passwords, naturally. It requires that the server and client be using the new network libraries.
3. There is no standard "New Password", "Old Password" GUI box. You need to make one yourself. Standard cavaets for passwords in GUIs apply.
4. There is no way to currently tell with standard SQL Server calls, how soon your password will expire. Think "Your password will expire in N days" message we all know and love.
So that's it. I have a "rough and ready" code example (that I wrote on a bet with Larry Chestnut at an Ascend gig a while ago) I'll probably clean up and post on my website eventually but this gives you the basic idea. And BTW, this isn't meant to push SQL Logins on anyone. If you can use only Windows logins in SQL Server (any release) and forgo SQL Logins entirely, PLEASE DO.