LAPS deployment and troubleshooting

Overview

Local Administrator Password Solution (Windows LAPS) rotates local Administrator passwords and stores them in Entra ID or AD for retrieval by authorized roles—critical for ransomware resilience.

Choose your edition

• Windows LAPS (inbox) with Entra ID or AD per Microsoft’s current guidance vs legacy LAPS CSE—standardize per tenant.

Deployment outline

1. Extend schema / enable Entra LAPS per Microsoft checklist.
2. Create Intune account protection policy or GPO to enable management.
3. Confirm devices receive policy and passwords rotate on schedule.

Operational retrieval

• Train helpdesk on least privilege retrieval paths (Intune portal or AD attribute viewer).
• Prohibit local sticky-note password lists.

Common failures

• Sku or edition mismatch blocking policy application.
• Hybrid join issues preventing cloud backup of passwords.
• Imaging clones reusing same machine identity—always sysprep.

Security note

Treat LAPS password reads as sensitive operations—enable auditing and periodic access reviews.