Unable to do database backups due to user account permission

Question

Unable to do database backups due to user account permission

Kaplan, Andrew H 226

We are running a SQLExpress 2012 server and are currently unable to do backups of a given database due to privileges. The logins that are available on the server are the following:

BUILTIN\Users sa

The Users group has public access, and the sa user has sysadmin access. However, the sa user is disabled. We have tried enabling the sa user through the GUI as well as using a T-SQL query. Neither has been successful.

Is there a way to either elevate the Users server role to sysadmin, or to enable the sa account?

0 comments

Answer recommended by moderator

1 additional answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Erland Sommarskog 134K MVP Volunteer Moderator

You should follow the procedures in this article:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/configure-windows/connect-to-sql-server-when-system-administrators-are-locked-out?view=sql-server-ver17

However, you should not enable sa, and you should absolutely not add BUILTIN\Users to sysadmin!

Rather, you should designate a person, or even better an AD group who is to be sysadmin. Then this person (or group of persons) can hand out permissions as needed.

Akhil Gajavelly 1,820 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-24T10:38:17.31+00:00

Hi @Kaplan, Andrew H ,

Just checking in were you able to follow the steps from the article to regain sysadmin access without enabling sa or assigning BUILTIN\Users?

Once you add a proper Windows account or AD group as sysadmin, you should be able to manage backups normally.

Let us know how it went or if you're still locked out we can help you take the next step.

Thanks,
Akhil.
Akhil Gajavelly 1,820 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-22T09:07:31.19+00:00

Hi @Kaplan, Andrew H,

Just checking in could you please let us know whether the above solution worked for you? If it did, kindly mark the response that helped as the answer, so others facing the same issue can find it easily.

Thanks,
Akhil.

Answer 2

To resolve the issue of being unable to perform database backups due to user account permissions in SQL Server Express 2012, you have a couple of options:

Enable the sa Account: Since the sa account is disabled, you need to enable it to regain access. If you are unable to enable it through the GUI or T-SQL, you might need to start SQL Server in single-user mode to reset the password or enable the account. This can be done by:
- Stopping the SQL Server service.
- Starting the service from the command line with the -m option to enable single-user mode.
- Connecting to the instance using SQLCMD or another tool and executing the command to enable the sa account:
```
     ALTER LOGIN sa ENABLE;
```
- After enabling, set a strong password for the sa account:
```
     ALTER LOGIN sa WITH PASSWORD = 'YourStrongPassword';
```
- Restart the SQL Server service normally.
Elevate BUILTIN\Users Role: While you cannot directly elevate the BUILTIN\Users group to sysadmin, you can create a new login with sysadmin privileges. If you have access to the sa account or another account with sufficient privileges, you can execute:
```
   CREATE LOGIN [NewAdmin] FROM WINDOWS;
   EXEC sp_addsrvrolemember 'NewAdmin', 'sysadmin';
```
This will allow the new user to have full administrative access.

If you are unable to perform these actions due to lack of access, you may need to consult with someone who has administrative privileges on the server or consider reinstalling SQL Server with appropriate permissions set during installation.

References:

Share via

Unable to do database backups due to user account permission

1 additional answer

Your answer