How to: Change the Service Account or Password for Team Foundation Server
Over time, you might need to change the password of the account that you specified as the service account for Visual Studio Team System Team Foundation Server when you installed it. This account is referred to as TFSService. To make this change, you must use the TFSAdminUtil utility with the ChangePassword argument. This tool updates servers for Team Foundation by replacing the old information about service accounts with the new information.
You can also replace the TFSService account with another account. To make this change, you must use the TFSAdminUtil utility with the ChangeAccount argument. This tool updates Team Foundation servers by replacing the old service account information with the new information.
Note
The TFSAdminUtil utility does not physically create an account or change its password. It only updates Team Foundation Server to use the current credentials. The service account can be either a local or a domain account. You can script TFSAdminUtil to allow for automated updates.
For more information about required service accounts, see the topic "User Accounts Required for Team Foundation Server Setup" in the Team Foundation Server Installation Guide. For more information about the installation guide, see Installation Overview for Team Foundation Server.
Required Permissions
To perform these procedures, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the Team Foundation application-tier server and a member of the SQL Server Administrator group on the Team Foundation data-tier server. For more information about permissions, see Team Foundation Server Permissions.
In addition to these permissions, you might need to address the following requirements on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista:
To follow a command-line procedure, you might need to open an elevated Command Prompt by clicking Start, right-clicking Command Prompt, and clicking Run as Administrator.
To follow a procedure that requires Internet Explorer, you might need to start it as an administrator by clicking Start, clicking All Programs, right-clicking Internet Explorer, and then clicking Run as administrator.
To edit web.config files, you might need to start the text editor as an administrator by clicking Start, clicking All Programs, right-clicking the editor, and then clicking Run as administrator.
To access Report Manager, reports, or Web sites for SQL Server Reporting Services, you might need to add these sites to the list of trusted sites in Internet Explorer or start Internet Explorer as an administrator.
For more information, see the Microsoft Web site.
Changing the Password for the Service Account
To change the password for the TFSService account, you must log on to the Team Foundation application-tier server and use the TFSAdminUtil utility.
Note
Depending on your deployment configuration, you might need to restart Internet Information Services (IIS) after you complete the procedure for the changes to take effect.
To change the password for the Team Foundation Server service account
On the application tier server, from the command line, locate the TFSAdminUtil utility.
By default, it is located in <drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server\Tools.
At the command line, type TFSAdminUtil ChangePasswordAccountnewPassword, and then press ENTER.
You must enter the user name for the TFSService account (Account) in addition to the new password for the account (newPassword).
Changing the Service Account
Changing Team Foundation Server to use another account as the TFSService account is more complicated than simply changing the password for an existing account. You must make several changes to Team Foundation Server before the new service account will work correctly. To change the TFSService account, you must use the TFSAdminUtil command-line utility. The account that you intend to use must be a member of a workgroup or domain that is trusted by every computer in the deployment of Team Foundation. As part of changing the service account, TFSAdminUtil grants the new account the Log on as a service permission. However, TFSAdminUtil does not remove that permission from the account that was formerly used as the service account if that account is being used for another service. Depending on your operational needs, you might want to remove that permission manually.
We recommend that you run Team Foundation Server in an Active Directory domain. However, you can also run it in a workgroup.
For more information about the Log on as a service permission, see the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=62101).
Note
Depending on your deployment configuration, you might need to restart IIS after you completing the procedure for the changes to take effect.
To assign a new service account to all Team Foundation Server services
On the application-tier server, open a Command Prompt window, locate the TFSAdminUtil utility.
By default, it is located in Drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server\Tools.
Note
Even if you are logged on with administrative credentials, you must open an elevated Command Prompt to perform this function on a server that is running Windows Server 2008. To open an elevated Command Prompt, click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as Administrator. For more information, see the Microsoft Web site.
At a command prompt, type TFSAdminUtil ChangeAccountOldAccountNewAccountNewPassword, and then press ENTER.
You must type the user name for the old TFSService account (oldAccount), in addition to the user name and password for the new account (newAccount and newPassword).
The TFSAdminUtil utility changes only those services that run under the old account.
Note
If you have configured e-mail alerts, you must either use the emailAddress parameter for the TFSAdminUtil ChangeAccount command to specify the new account from which e-mail alerts are sent, or you must manually change the web.config file. For more information, see ChangeAccount Command or How to: Configure SMTP Server and E-mail Notification Settings in the Services Web.Config File.
See Also
Tasks
How to: Change the Service Account or Password for SQL Server Reporting Services
How to: View Team Foundation Server Services
How to: Configure Cache Security for Team Foundation Server Proxy
Concepts
Managing and Resetting Service Accounts and Passwords