Resetting Administrator Password in Windows 2008

I have normally worked with linux servers but sometimes i used Windows too. I have faced password forgetting moments and then after searching and trying i have got the solution to reset Windows Server 2008 R2.

You will need to follow the steps.

1. Boot from the Micrsoft Windows Server 2008 DVD.
2. From the Install Windows menu, click “Next”.
3. Select “Repair your computer”.
4. In the System Recovery Options, select the Operating System instance that you wish to repair and click “Next”. If you don’t see any Operating system then you must load drivers.
5. Select “Command Prompt”.
6. At the command prompt, run the following commands:

 c:
 cd windowssystem32
 ren Utilman.exe Utilman.exe.old
 copy cmd.exe Utilman.exe

1. Reboot the server allowing Windows to load as normal.
2. At the logon screen, press Windows Key + U.
3. As the command prompt, enter the following command:

net user administrator Password12

This will set the password for the Administrator user to be Password12 (case sensitive).

Closing the command prompt, you should now be able to log back onto the server using the password you have provided in the last step.

Cleanup Steps

Once you have verified you can log on to the server you will have repeat the steps above and boot using the Windows Server 2008 DVD/ISO and run the command prompt again.

• Delete the newly created Utilman.exe from C:WindowsSystem32
• Rename Utilman.exe.old back to Utilman.exe

You should be back up and running as if nothing ever happened.