How to restore your administrators password?

I changed my administrators password and forgot it.I have no clue what it is how do I restore it if I am the administrator?

This question was answered on January 17, 2005. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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Here are a few ways you can retrieve your password:

To Reset the Administrator Password

1 Click, Start, click Run, type ntdsutil, and then click OK

2 At the Ntdsutil command prompt, type set dsrm password

3 At the DSRM command prompt, type one of the following lines: " To reset the password on the server on which you are working, type reset password on server null The null variable assumes that the DSRM password is being reset on the local computer Type the new password when you are prompted Note that no characters appear while you type the password.

-or-

" To reset the password for another server, type reset password on server servername, where servername is the DNS name for the server on which you are resetting the DSRM password Type the new password when you are prompted Note that no characters appear while you type the password

4 At the DSRM command prompt, type q

5 At the Ntdsutil command prompt, type q to exit

MORE INFORMATION

The Administrator password that you use when you start Recovery Console or when you press F8 to start Directory Service Restore Mode is stored in the registry-based Security Accounts Manager (SAM) on the local computer The SAM is located in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config folder The SAM-based account and password are computer specific and they are not replicated to other domain controllers in the domain

For ease of administration of domain controllers or for additional security measures, you can change the Administrator password for the local SAM To change the local Administrator password that you use when you start Recovery Console or when you start Directory Service Restore Mode, use one of the following methods

Method 1

If Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 or later is installed on your computer, you can use the Setpwd.exe utility to change the SAM-based Administrator password To do this: 1 Log on to the computer as the administrator or a user who is a member of the Administrators group

2 At a command prompt, change to the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder

3 To change the local SAM-based Administrator password, type setpwd, and then press ENTER

To change the SAM-based Administrator password on a remote domain controller, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER

setpwd /s:servername

where servername is the name of the remote domain controller

4 When you are prompted to type the password for the Directory Service Restore Mode Administrator account, type the new password that you want to use

NOTE: If you make a mistake, repeat these steps to run setpwd again

For additional information about the Setpwd.exe utility, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

271641 The Configure Your Server Wizard Sets Blank Recovery Password

Method 2

1 Log on to the computer as the administrator or a user who is a member of the Administrators group

2 Shut down the domain controller on which you want to change the password

3 Restart the computer When the selection menu screen is displayed during restar, press F8 to view advanced startup options

4 Click the Directory Service Restore Mode option

5 After you log on, use one of the following methods to change the local Administrator password:" At a command prompt, type the following command:

net user administrator *

" Use the Local User and Groups snap-in (Lusrmgr.msc) to change the Administrator password

6 Shut down and restart the computer

You can now use the Administrator account to log on to Recovery Console or Directory Services Restore Mode using the new password

Method #1

If Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 or later is installed on your computer, you can use the Setpwd.exe utility to change the SAM-based Administrator password To do this:

At a command prompt, change to the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder

To change the local SAM-based Administrator password, type

setpwd

and then press ENTER

To change the SAM-based Administrator password on a remote domain controller, type

setpwd /s: servername

and then press ENTER, where servername is the name of the remote domain controller

When you are prompted to type the password for the Directory Service Restore Mode Administrator account, type the new password that you want to use

Note: If you make a mistake, repeat these steps to run setpwd again

Method #2

Shut down the domain controller on which you want to change the password

Restart the computer When the selection menu screen is displayed during the restart process, press F8 to view advanced startup options

Select the Directory Service Restore Mode option

After you successfully log on, use one of the following methods to change the local Administrator password:

At a command prompt, type the following command:

net user administrator *

Use the Local User and Groups snap-in (Lusrmgr.msc) to change the Administrator password

Shut down and restart the computer

When you promoted your Windows 2000 Server to a domain controller, you entered a Directory Service Restore Mode Administrator password, which is used by the Recovery Console.

The Directory Service Restore Mode Administrator password is separate from the Administrator password that is stored in the Active Directory.

It is stored in the local SAM, %SystemRoot%\System32\Config\SAM To change it:

1 Shutdown and restart.

2 Press F8 for advanced startup options.

3 Select the Directory Service Restore Mode.

4 Log on.

5 Use the Local User and Groups snap-in or type net user Administrator *.

6 Shutdown and restart.

If you forget the password, you will NOT be able to use the Directory Service Restore Mode, unless:

1 Perform an alternate install to a different drive, using a new computer name You can install Professional.

2 Copy the original installs %SystemRoot%\Repair\SAM to the original %SystemRoot%\System32\Config\SAM.

you can also buy a password cracker at any software or computer store..

About the author

Posted by cristina of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on January 17, 2005

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