Checking out the passwd file: impossible?

[Adriano Rodrigues Ferreira]

I would like to checkout the passwd file together with
the administrative files (despite the advice against it).
I am setting up a CVS server and it would be nice
to have (at least in the first times) this kind of access
to the passwd file.

Then I put passwd in checkoutlist but it doesn't get it.
It says:

cvs commit: Examining .
Checking in checkoutlist;
/usr/local/cvs/CVSROOT/checkoutlist,v  <--  checkoutlist
new revision: 1.6; previous revision: 1.5
done
cvs server: Rebuilding administrative file database
cvs server: Can't checkout 'passwd' file.

By the way, "Can't checkout 'passwd' file." is the message
I've added to checkoutlist according to the instructions.

What am I doing wrong? There has been some change
in the CVS which turned the advice into a no, no! just
like root cannot commit files?

Thanks for any advice on this.

Regards,

Adriano.