How to Change the recovery console administrator password on Windows 2003

[Christofer]

We are having a Windows Server 2003 on domain. For some of the security reason i need to change the the Recovery Console administrator password on a domain controller. I really have no idea of doing the same. Please let me know how can i do the same. Thanks in advance.

[Calvin K]

The system uses the account passwords in the local Security Accounts Manager (SAM) file when you use the Recovery Console.The SAM is located in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config folder. But if a system is a domain controller, it doesn't use the local SAM file, so changing the Administrator password changes the Active Directory account and not the local SAM password.The SAM-based account and password are computer specific and they are not replicated to other domain controllers in the domain. You need to use Setpwd.exe utility to change the SAM-based Administrator password. To change the recovery console administrator password on Windows 2003, just go through this steps:-

change to the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder at the command prompt. Now in order to change the SAM-based Administrator password, type setpwd in command prompt and press Enter. You can also type setpwd /s: servername if you want change the SAM-based Administrator password on a remote domain controller.

[jesse]

In order to change the SAM password on Windows 2003 you need to restart the particular domain controller on which you want to do this. While restarting at the time system displays the selection menu press F8 to enter the advanced startup options. Once you are there, select Directory Service Restore Mode. Now type this command in the command prompt after logon and press Enter:

net user administrator

Thats it, now restart the computer.

I have some of the useful commands that you can use in Recovery Console. I think it will useful for you. Just go through it:-

1. Attrib changes attributes on one file or folder.
2. Batch executes commands that you specify in the text file, InputFile. OutputFile holds the output of the commands. If you omit the OutputFile argument, output is displayed on the screen.
3. Bootcfg is used for boot configuration and recovery. You can use the bootcfg command to make changes to the Boot.ini file.
4. CD (chdir) operates only in the system directories of the current Windows installation, in removable media, in the root directory of any hard disk partition, or in the local installation sources.
5. Chkdsk: The /p switch runs Chkdsk even if the drive is not flagged as dirty. The /r switch locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. This switch implies /p. Chkdsk requires Autochk. Chkdsk automatically looks for Autochk.exe in the startup folder or in the boot folder. If Chkdsk cannot find the file in the startup folder, it looks for the Windows Server 2003 installation CD. If Chkdsk cannot find the installation CD, it prompts the user for the location of Autochk.exe.
6. Cls clears the screen.
7. Copy copies one file to a target location. By default, the target cannot be removable media, and you cannot use wildcard characters. Copying a compressed file from the Windows Server 2003 installation CD automatically decompresses the file.
8. Del (delete) deletes one file. Del operates in the system directories of the current Windows installation, in removable media, in the root directory of any hard disk partition, or in the local installation sources. By default, you cannot use wildcard characters.
9. Dir displays a list of all files, including hidden and system files.
10. Disable disables a Windows system service or a Windows driver. The servicename argument is the name of the service or the driver that you want to disable. When you use this command to disable a service, it displays the service's original startup type before changing the type to SERVICE_DISABLED. It is a good idea to note the original startup type so that you can use the enable command to restart the service.