Reset Administrator Password on SBS 2008
Next post: Reset all passwords in an Active Directory OU Previous post: Managing Silverstripe Upgrades In Your SVN Projects
So you've managed to loose your admin password for your SBS Server 2008 eh? Well in my case, a faulty keyboard caused an incorrect password to be set. Whatever the reason you need to reset the password, I'll assume you're doing this for Good, and not Evil.
A quick google round came up with the usual password reset programs, but they only work on local passwords, not ones stored in Active Directory, so they were no good. Eventually I stumbled across the method. Credit goes here, but I like to keep useful tips on this site (more for myself than anything).
Things you'll need:
- Physical access to the server
- Your 2008 install DVD
Step One: Launch recovery console
Put your install DVD in the drive and reboot the server. Make sure you press the key to boot off the DVD. Once it loads, choose your language, then click Repair your computer. Click Command Prompt
Step Two: Do a bit of file jiggery-pokery
Run the following commands in the command prompt:
C:
cd windows\system32
move Utilman.exe Utilman.bak
copy Cmd.exe Utilman.exe
Basically we're moving Utilman out of the way temporarily and replacing it with cmd.exe (command prompt). Close the command prompt and click Reboot.
Step Three: Do the password reset
Start up your server as normal, and after you press CTRL-ALT-DELETE and have the login screen up, press Windows-U and the command prompt will come up. Type the following:
net user [username] [password]
Where [username] is the username you want to reset the password for, and [password] is the new password. Close the command prompt and log in with the new password!
Step Four: Close that back-door
We want to move the files back to where they were, otherwise anyone could go Windows-U to get an administrator's command prompt. Unfortunately Utilman.exe is a protected file so you can't move it back while in Windows. Reboot back into the recovery console as in Step One, and run the following commands:
C:
cd windows\system32
del Utilman.exe
move Utilman.bak Utilman.exe
All done! Reboot and pat yourself on your back.