Cannot use smbpasswd for new user

[SI-Gaetan Boudreau]

There is an inconsistancy with the documentation.
The man pages of smbpasswd says null passwords = true and
the man pages of smb.conf says null passwords = yes

Maybe both are accepted.
Anyway neither of them works for me.

The users cannot put a password if it is blank, that is either filled 
with X or the string NO PASSWORD in the password field of the 
smbpassword file.

They get this error message:
terre{testgb}73: smbpasswd
Old SMB password:
New SMB password:
Retype new SMB password:
/opt/samba/bin/smbpasswd: machine 127.0.0.1 rejected the session setup. 
Error was : ERRSRV - ERRbadpw (Bad password - name/password pair in a 
Tree Connect or Session Setup are invalid.).

The solution I am looking for is either
1) the new user be able to use smbpasswd even if he has a blank 
password.
OR
2) be able to put a default password in my custom "adduser" script.
If I use "smbpasswd -a new_user", I will have to type it interactively 
on the screen, which I don't want.  Right now I just append the 
appropriate line myself at the end of the smbpasswd file

I need to add hundreds of account.

How do you do it ?

Thank you for your time.
 

-- 
====================================================
Gaetan Boudreau, ing/P.Eng.                       
Administrateur de reseau/Network Administrator
IRCM (Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal/
      Clinical Research Institute of Montreal)

tel: 514-987-5563   fax: 514-987-5644
Internet E-Mail: Gaetan_Boudreau at IRCM.UMontreal.CA
Internet Web Site: http://www.ircm.umontreal.ca