I need to recover or reset the administrator password for a windows 2019 server.

Question

The original retailer has gone out of business, and the original admin left in handcuff. We do not have original disks or a recovery USB stick. I tried a remote desktop connection, which used to work, but am being told I don't have access to my domain controller to verify the password.

Answer 1

Hello   L.G.McCaw，

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community forum.

It seems difficult to fix your problem. There are a few things you can try:

1. Check if there are any other accounts with administrative privileges that can be used to reset the password.
2. Try booting the server from a Windows installation disk and using the command prompt to reset the password.（You do not have original disks or a recovery USB stick this suggestion maybe void）
3. If the server is part of a domain, you can try resetting the password using Active Directory Users and Computers. To do this, you will need to log in to another domain-joined computer with administrative privileges, open Active Directory Users and Computers, right-click on the server's computer object, and select "Reset Password."
4. If you have physical access to the server, you can try using a password reset tool such as Offline NT Password & Registry Editor or PCUnlocker to reset the password.

Note：Using a password reset tool can be risky if not done properly.

5. If none of the above methods work, you may need to reinstall the operating system and start fresh. However, this should be a last resort as it will result in the loss of all data and settings on the server.

I hope the information above is helpful.

If you have any question or concern, please feel free to let us know.

Best Regards,

Haijian Shan

Answer 2

Hello Haijian Shan,

Thank you for the feedback.  That pretty much follows my checklist of things to try.  I think we're at the point of backing up the accessible shares and doing a complete reinstall or using a reset tool. It's a small company, with a just a few dozen users. The previous admin went completely overboard locking down everything. Mainly to keep anyone from finding what he was really doing.  I think we'll backup the shares, install new drives and start with a fresh load. That'll preserve the drives in case they're need for.. future use.  I'll present those choices to the owners next week.  I appreciate your taking time to respond, it pretty much confirms my thoughts. 

Thanks again,

L.G. McCaw

Answer 3

When you want to access your domain controller server computer, an available administrator account and password is needed. Please firstly make sure that if there are more than one admin account on your server computer.

If you any personal who has admin privileges on that computer, ask him or her to help reset your server 2019 administrator password. And here are some other secure methods can help reset local/domain admin pasword on Windows server 2019/2022.

Because your Windows server 2019 is working as domain controller, so a password reset disk doesn't work at all as it can only be used to reset password for a local account.

Answer 4

The original retailer has gone out of business, and the original admin left in handcuff. We do not have original disks or a recovery USB stick. I tried a remote desktop connection, which used to work, but am being told I don't have access to my domain controller to verify the password.

Rset administrator Password