Active Directory Password Change Issue

I don't recall an account being locked when the user forgot to change the password before the deadline (I know this happens a lot in hardened Linux servers though).

In case you it really did happen, assuming you have domain administrator access, you can:

1. Login your domain controller as domain admin
2. Open up "Active Directory Users and Computers"
3. Go to "Users"
4. Find the user account, right click and open "Properties"
5. Browse to the "Accounts" tab and tick "Unlock account"

This should unlock the account and when the user tries to login again (via console or Remote Desktop), Windows should prompt a password change.