Lost Windows server 2019 admin password? Or, someone else who used your server computer and changed the login password? In both cases, maybe the only option left for you is to reinstall the operating system. However, you’ll lose all data in the computer and software installed from website. What’s more, you will need to configure domain controller after installing a brand new Windows server 2019. So, the best way to get back into your server computer is recovering the admin password in Windows server 2019.
Fortunately, there are some clever methods can help recover lost password or reset expired password for Windows server 2019. This article will describe four popular methods about how to recover Windows server 2019 local/domain admin password without reinstalling the OS.
Tip 1: Recover Windows Server 2019 Local/Domain Administrator Password with Password Rescuer.
Windows Password Rescuer is currently the best Windows password reset software which was developed from 2011 and now it works perfectly for the latest Windows 10 and Windows server 2019. People can use it to easily recover local and domain administrator password for any Windows system such as Windows server 2019, 2016, 2012/R2, 2008/R2, 2003 and Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP etc.
Steps given bellow can help you easily recover Windows server 2019 local/domain administrator password. If you want to use Windows Password Rescuer to recover other Windows admin password, refer to the instructions on the product page.
Step 1: Use Windows Password Rescuer to create a password recovery disk on a working computer.
1.Firstly, download and install Windows Password Rescuer Advanced on a working computer. It can be installed on any Windows system. (Free download Windows Password Rescuer Advanced.)
2.Launch the software. It can help you create a Windows password recovery disk with CD/DVD/USB. Now plug in a blank USB flash drive to the computer and then click “USB device”.
3.Pull down the drive list and select the plugged USB drive. Then click “Begin Burning”. I will prompt that the USB will be firstly formatted. Click “Yes” to continue.
4.Burning starts and the process will be completed in a minutes. When successfully complete burning, unplug your USB.
Step 2: Use the Windows password recovery disk you just created to recover Window server 2019 local/domain administrator password on your server computer.
1.Connect the USB disk to your server computer which you need to unlock.
2.Set the server computer to boot from USB. (Step-by-step guide)
3.Once the computer successfully boots from the Windows password recovery disk, Windows Password Rescuer Advanced will run automatically and show you a friendly interface. It will load all local user accounts and domain administrator account of Windows server 2019.
4.To recover local/domain administrator password, click “Administrator”.
5.Click “Reset Password”.
6.When it asks you if reset the password to blank, click “Yes” to confirm the operation.
7.Then unknown password will be turned to “blank” (no password).
8.Now click “Reboot” to restart the computer.
9.When a confirm message pops up, unplug your USB and then click “Yes”.
10.The computer will restart and automatically sign in to administrator without entering password. For security reason, it is necessary to create a strong password for the administrator and don’t forget to back up the password.
Tip 2: Recover Windows Server 2019 Local Admin Password via Password Reset Wizard.
As that in Windows 10, Windows server 2019 also provide a simple way for people to recover lost local admin password via the password reset wizard. The key thing is that you have previously created a free password reset disk for your local admin account. If you have done that before, now you can follow this guide to open Windows server 2019 password reset wizard and recover your Windows server 2019 local admin password as easy as count 1, 2, 3 …
Step 1: Connect your server 2019 password reset disk to the server computer. After entering a wrong password in Windows server 2019 sign-in screen, click "OK" when it tells you the password is incorrect.
Step 2: A link for resetting password will be shown under the password box. Click the link.
Step 3: Windows server 2019 password reset wizard appears, click “Next”.
Step 4: Select your password reset disk from the pull-down drive list and then click “Next”.
Step 5: Type a new password in the new password box and then confirm it by reentering it in the confirm password box. Then click “OK”.
Step 6: To close the wizard, click “Finish”. Then you can use the new password to log on your local admin account in Windows server 2019.
Tip 3: Use Ophcrack to Recover Server 2019 Local Account Password.
Ophcrack Live CD is a free Windows password finder which can help recover Windows local account password via brute force. If your password is strong and long, it will take a long time to recover the password. Here is the step-by-step guide about how to use Ophcrack Live CD to recover a Windows server 2019 local administrator password.
Step 1: Firstly, use another computer to download the ISO file of Ophcrack Live CD from the official site: https://ophcrack.sourceforge.io/download.php.
Step 2: On the home page, select ‘Ophcrack LiveCD’.
Step 3: After downloading Ophcrack LiveCD, you must use a burning tool to burn the ISO file on to a blank CD/DVD.
Step 4: When complete burning, eject your CD/DVD and then insert the CD/DVD to the CD/DVD-ROM of your server computer. Make sure that the first boot device in the server computer is CD/DVD-ROM. Or you need to change boot order from BIOS.
Step 5: Restart the locked computer and boot from CD/DVD-ROM. You will see Ophcrack LiveCD on the window screen with 4 options. Just continue with the default option, choose “Ophcrack Graphic Mode-automatic” and then press “Enter”.
Step 6: After that, Ophcrack will load user accounts of Windows server 2019 and automatically recover all passwords for each user account. When the administrator password successfully recovered, you can get the recovered password on the ‘NT Pwd’ column. Then write down it.
Step 7: Now remove your CD/DVD and then restart the computer.
Step 8: When Windows server 2019 login screen appears, you can use the recovered password to log on your user account.
Note: Ophcrack Live CD will take a long time to recover a strong password. If you hurried about the task and look for a fast way to recover Windows server 2019 password, you should choose Windows Password Rescuer mentioned in method 1. It can instantly reset a local/domain administrator password no matter how strong it is, but it cannot help you get the original password.
Tip 4: Use Hiren’s Boot CD to Recover Windows Server 2019 Local Admin Password.
Hiren’s Boot CD is one of popular Windows password reset tool which can help recover any Windows local admin password instantly, but it is not easy for newbies. Here I will show you how to use it to recover Windows server 2019 local administrator password.
Step 1: Download ISO file of Hiren’s Boot CD on a working computer. Then burn the ISO file on to a blank CD/DVD.
Step 2: Boot your server computer from the newly created CD/DVD.
Step 3: When Hiren’s Boot CD screen appears, hit arrow key to choose “Offline NT Password Changer” and then press “Enter” key.
Step 4: When screen scrolls to step one, type “1” and then press “Enter”.
Step 5: Windows installation files is loaded. Type “1” and then press “Enter” to load SAM file.
Step 6: To select “Edit user data and passwords”, type “1” and then press “Enter”.
Step 7: All local user accounts of Windows server 2019 are displayed. Type “Administrator” and then press “Enter” to select it.
Step 8: To clear the administrator password, type “1” and then press “Enter”.
Step 9: Password cleared. Type “!” and then press “Enter”.
Step 10: Type “q” and then press “Enter”.
Step 11: To save changes, type “y” and then press “Enter”.
Step 12: To exit the program, type “n” and then press “Enter”.
Step 13: Now remove your CD/DVD and then press CTRL-ALT-DEL keys to restart the computer.
Step 14: After restarting, you can log on the local administrator account without password.
FAQs
How to recover administrator password in Windows Server 2019? ›
- Introduction.
- Put your server into Recovery Mode.
- Log in after enabling the recovery mode.
- Mount the Windows Device.
- Unlock the Account.
- Unmount the Windows Device.
- Exit recovery mode and reboot.
- Login and Set a Strong Password.
- Select the Reset password link on the sign-in screen. If you use a PIN instead, see PIN sign-in issues. ...
- Answer your security questions.
- Enter a new password.
- Sign in as usual with the new password.
- Select your Windows VM and then select Reset password under Help. The Reset password window is displayed.
- Select Reset password, enter a username and a password, and then select Update.
- Try connecting to your VM again.
- Select Start > Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then press ENTER.
- Locate and then select the following registry key: ...
- Find the Domain Name:User Name value, and then delete the entry.
- Quit Registry Editor.
- Test the account to confirm that it's no longer locked out.
- Go to the location of the file “boot.properties”
- Gather encrypted information from the file “boot.properties” username={AES}xxxx.
- Create a java script as below to decrypt the credentials.
- Execute the file setDomainEnv.sh.
- Execute the below command to decrypt the password.
In the left panel of Computer Management window, navigate the following path: "Local Users and Groups" → Users folder, where you can view the details of the user accounts. Now select your account, right-click on it and select "Set Password". Followed by Proceed to complete the password resetting process.
How can I reset my administrator password without a reset disk? ›Step 1: Log in to Windows 10 with another sign-in option. Step 2: Open a Command Prompt as administrator. Step 3: Type net user user_name new_password and hit Enter key to reset your Windows 10 password. Replace user_name and new_password with your username and desired password respectively.
How to bypass Windows password using CMD? ›In the Command Prompt window, type net user username “” and press Enter. Replace username with your actual Windows account name. This will reset your Windows 10 password to blank. Close the Command Prompt window and click Sign in on the login screen to log in to Windows 10 without a password.
How to reset Windows Server administrator password using Command Prompt? ›- Click in the login window. The Administrator: C:\Windows\system32\utilman.exe window opens. ...
- To change the password, type command net user Administrator in the following format: net user Administrator MY NEW PASSWORD. ...
- Close the Administrator window : C:\Windows\system32\utilman.exe.
The “Local Administrator Password Solution” (LAPS) provides management of local account passwords of domain joined computers. Passwords are stored in Active Directory (AD) and protected by ACL, so only eligible users can read it or request its reset.
What is the default password for Windows Server 2019? ›
No Default Windows Password
Unfortunately, there is no real default Windows password.
- Open “Run” with [Windows] + [R].
- Type “cmd” and press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Enter].
- Type “net user administrator /active:yes”.
- The administrator account is now activated.
- To deactivate: “net user administrator /active:no”.
- Go to Windows search and enter cmd in the search field.
- Under Command Prompt, select Run as Administrator.
- Type net user administrator /active:yes and then press enter.
Under Password, tap or click Change. Verify the current password for your local account. Leave the New password, Reenter password, and Password hint fields blank, tap or click Next, and then tap or click Finish. Now, you (or anyone) can sign in to your local account and use your PC without a password.
What can be done in Windows 10 to recover a lost or incorrectly entered user password? ›On the sign-in screen, type your Microsoft account name if it's not already displayed. If there are multiple accounts on the computer, choose the one you want to reset. Below the password text box, select I forgot my password. Follow the steps to reset your password.
How to unlock administrator account in Windows Server 2016? ›Go to Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options. Find Accounts: Administrator account status policy and set it to Enable. Update the Group Policy settings with the command: gpupdate /force or just reboot your computer.
What are the recovery options for Windows Server 2016? ›- Insert your USB bootable disk into the optical drive. ...
- Click Troubleshoot button, then choose System Image Recovery in the advanced options.
- Choose an account and enter the password if any. ...
- Click Finish and then Yes at the final Re-image your computer confirmation.
Ophcrack is an advanced password cracker for Windows and is 100% free to download. This tool is available for all Windows operating systems.
Can we bypass Windows password? ›Press Windows+R, type netplwiz and click OK; 2. Uncheck the "Users must enter a username and password to use this computer" box; 3.
How to give a user administrator rights in Windows Server 2019? ›Open the Local Users and Groups tool and navigate to the Groups tab. Select the Windows Admin Center Readers group. In the Details pane at the bottom, select Add User and enter the name of a user or security group that should have read-only access to the server through Windows Admin Center.
How to disable account lockout policy in Windows Server 2019? ›
Solution. Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Account Policies >> Account Lockout Policy >> 'Account lockout duration' to '15' minutes or greater. A value of '0' is also acceptable, requiring an administrator to unlock the account.
How to disable administrator account in Windows Server 2019? ›Right-click the Administrator account, and then select Properties. The Administrator Properties window appears. On the General tab, clear the Account is Disabled check box.
What is the password solution? ›Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (Windows LAPS) is a Windows feature that automatically manages and backs up the password of a local administrator account on your Azure Active Directory-joined or Windows Server Active Directory-joined devices.
What is the default password of admin user? ›A default (admin) password is a piece of alphanumerical text for the user to log in to a service for the first time. Common default passwords include “admin” and “guest”. Default login credentials can be found in user manuals. Many websites share lists of default login info as well.
What is the most common administrator password? ›- 123456.
- 123456789.
- 12345.
- qwerty.
- password.
- 12345678.
- 111111.
- 123123.
On domain members and workstations, local user account password hashes are stored in a local Security Account Manager (SAM) Database located in the registry. They are encrypted using the same encryption and hashing algorithms as Active Directory.
How do I access Windows Admin Center in Server 2019? ›Open your web browser and type “localhost” or “FQDN” of the machine where the installation has been done. Then, you can access Windows Admin Center (WAC).
How to reset administrator password without admin rights? ›Whenever you try to use an incorrect password to log in to the admin account, a Reset Password button will appear below the Password box on the Windows login screen. This button is the only way provided by Windows to change the admin password when you do not have admin privileges or cannot log in to Windows.
Where are Windows admin passwords stored? ›Click on the Control Panel. Go to User Accounts. Click on Manage your network passwords on the left. You should find your credentials here!
Where are password manager passwords stored? ›Manage your saved passwords in Android or Chrome. They're securely stored in your Google Account and available across all your devices.
How do I recover my domain password? ›
Click Start > Run, type ntdsutil, and then click OK. At the Ntdsutil command prompt, type set dsrm password. At the DSRM command prompt, type one of the following lines: To reset the password on the server on which you're working, type reset password on server null.
Where is the Windows Server 2019 product key? ›If you've purchased a physical copy of Windows Server 2019, the product key should be present on a label or a card inside the box. It should be included with that.
How do I bypass administrator settings blocked? ›Step 1: Right-click on the file and select Properties. Step 2: In the General tab, check "Unblock" under "Security". Step 3: Click Apply and then Ok.
What is the default password for admin? ›#1) The default username and password can be obtained from the router manual which comes with the router when you first purchase and install it. #2) Generally, for most of the routers, the default username and password is “admin” and “admin”. However, these credentials may vary depending upon the maker of the router.
Is there a default administrator password? ›Sadly, there is no default password or admin default password for your Microsoft Windows. However, there are ways to regain access to your Windows if you don't remember your login info. If you have Windows 8, 10, or 11 and use a Microsoft account, the easiest way to do this is by running an online reset.