Reset Windows 2008 R2 Admin password

So I did it… I cloned a domain join virtual machine… I did not sysprep it and I left the domain… so when I went back to the original machine no domain logins would work.  Even worse I lost the local admin password.   So how do you reset it… in linux it’s always a reboot away… Windows is a reboot and a few steps:

  • Boot from the Micrsoft Windows Server 2008 DVD
  • From the Install Windows menu, click “Next”.
  • Select “Repair your computer”
  • In the System Recovery Options, select the Operating System instance that you wish to repair and click “Next”.
  • Select “Command Prompt”. The
  • At the command prompt, run the following commands:c:
    cd windows\system32
    ren Utilman.exe Utilman.exe.old
    copy cmd.exe Utilman.exe
  • Reboot the server allowing Windows to load as normal
  • At the logon screen, press Windows Key + U.
  • As the command prompt, enter the following command:net user administrator New_PASSWORD
  • Log into the server with New_PASSWORD
  • Reboot into the repair command prompt

c:
cd windows\system32
del utilman.exe
copy Utilman.exe.old utilman.exe

Reboot and enjoy

5 Replies to “Reset Windows 2008 R2 Admin password”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.