Locked out of Server 2016 - administrator gone

Question

I have inherited a standalone Windows Server 2016, which could be a domain controller, without any access to the server with an account having the administrator role. Basically a single-server site.

Is there a published method to reset the default admin account on Windows Server 2016? E.g. through physical access to the console, startup sequence, etc...

Answer 1

A domain controller has no local accounts, you'll need to logon as a domain administrator. Give this one a try
https://4sysops.com/archives/forgot-the-domain-admin-password/

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Answer 2

Hello @Brent Landry ,

If there are not much services running on the server, I would personally rebuild it since you never known what was done before and how many "patches" or "workarounds" the previous admin have applied. Historically I always had bad experiences on the long run with inherited servers (specially in small environments).

Otherwise, there are different options for Administrator account recovery:

Check this ones:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/bddc7653-a05b-4b18-b92f-1a6a475c1a60/how-to-reset-windows-server-2012-r2-administrator-password?forum=winserversecurity
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/ie/en-US/f00a69c4-ea31-4fa5-a5ff-9f163af23eb8/recover-local-administrator-password-from-2012-server?forum=winserver8gen

Hope it helps in your case,

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