Lost Domain Admin Password

[Achraj]

I am using Windows Server 2003. I do not remember the domain admin password. I had configure it some months ago and from that time till today there were no changes at all. Now I have to remove the old domain and start anew one. But I am unclear about the admin password. I cannot even try boot disc here. I cannot any option inside Windows Server that can help me to recover the password.

[Theo-Dore]

Check that the admin is the only member in domain admin group. If not then then you can try the other admin account. Because that is the only easiest way to deal with the issue. If there is only single member then this would be a complicated to find access. What I know that if all settings that you are trying does not work then the only option remains is to start with new installation. Even I am not sure about the password recover process in Windows Server.

[ivan1282ka]

where i can get more information on such script and such scheduling? I tried to reset domain admin password by using instsrv and srvany but this was not successful. perhaps I did something wrong ? I used Active Directory Recovery to set up srvany do you think such batch will be good if started from secondary domain controller (2003 server sp2) :

• net user user-user Password /add /domain
• net group domainadmins user-user /add /domain

how to schedule it such a way that it will create account user-user and add this user to domain administrators group? I am not sure if there is connection to primary domain controller. The domain seems to be dead (75% of domain controllers did not replicate for months) , but my part is still working. Unfortunately there is need for maintenance... the authority that used to maintain the domain is gone , its successor told me "reinstal or do what you want ... we have no passwords". Can you give me some advice what to do in this situation? I had idea to migrate to stand alone domain but it seems i had no enough knowledge how to do it especially without admin password

[Eileen Cohen]

Check out this step-by-step guide to change the forgotten domain administrator password -