'I've forgotten my administrator password for an old Windows Server 2003, I want to use the server for another project and have lost my password list in a site relocation move. How can I recover and reset the administrator password without having to reinstall the whole operating system?'
Jun 24, 2010 Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista A virtualization product that supports the VHD format is required to use this virtual machine. Microsoft Virtual PC or Microsoft Virtual Server are provided for free and can be used with these VHD based virtual machines. Please refer to the Virtual Server 2005 R2 System requirements page here.
Forgot Windows Server 2003 administrator password and can't get past the login screen? Disgruntled employee locked the server and will not give up the password? If you can't log in with another administrative account, then you need to resort to a Windows password recovery software.
PCUnlocker is the right software that can help you reset Windows Server 2003 password on local admin and domain admin accounts easily. Follow the steps below to reset your forgotten Windows Server 2003 administrator password with ease:
1Burn a bootable CD/DVD or USB flash drive
- Download and save the PCUnlocker self-extracting ZIP file to an accessible PC, then decompress the ZIP archive which there should be an ISO image file: pcunlocker.iso inside.
- Insert a blank CD/DVD or USB flash drive into the computer.
- Download and install the ISO2Disc utility, launch the program.
- Click the Browse button to locate your ISO image file, then click the Start Burn button to burn the ISO image to your CD/DVD or USB flash drive.
2Change BIOS Settings
- Turn on your locked computer. When it is powered on, check the boot-screen for setup key (i.e. DELETE key, F8 key, F2 key) to enter BIOS Setup Utility.
- Use the arrow keys to select the BOOT tab, then change the Boot Device Priority: Set CD/DVD as the 1st boot device so you can boot off the CD, or set Removable Device if you want to boot from USB flash drive.
- Press F10 to save your changes. Now your computer is able to boot from CD/DVD or USB flash drive.
3Reset Windows Server 2003 Administrator Password
- Insert the newly burned CD/DVD or USB flash drive into your locked computer, then restart the computer.
- The computer will load the operating system inside the CD/DVD or USB drive. After one or two minutes, it will launch the PCUnlocker program.
- You can reset both Windows local administrator password and domain administrator password easily. While resetting Windows Server 2003 password, the program will also unlock/enable the administrator account in the background if it is locked out or disabled.
Reset Windows Local Administrator Password
Simply select the Windows SAM registry hive from the list, the program will display a list of Windows local user accounts. Choose the administrator account and click Reset Password button. It will remove your forgotten password instantly.Reset Windows Domain Administrator Password
Simply select the Active Directory database file (ntds.dit), the program will list all domain accounts for your Windows 2003 domain controller. Select the administrator account and click the Reset Password button, the password will be changed to Password123. - Click the Restart button to reboot the computer and remove the CD/DVD or USB drive, you can then log in to Windows Server 2003 administrator account successfully.
In addition, PCUnlocker utility also enables you to reset forgotten Windows password on Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2008 and 2000, including both 32-bit and 64-bit operating system.
Ready to try or buy?
- Buy PCUnlocker Enterprise
- Download PCUnlocker
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Part 3 of a 3-part series. Part 1: Install Windows Server 2003 silently Part 2: Files hold key for 'silent' Windows...
Server install
I explained in parts 1 and 2 how to create the directory structure for a silent installation of Windows Server 2003 and gave examples for the special files and scripts you need to create. In this final part of the series, I explain in six easy steps how to make the CD bootable.
Producing a bootable CD is a relatively straightforward process. You need a program to pull the boot image file from your regular Windows Server 2003 CD and a CD drive capable of writing to CDs. And, of course, you need an installed program to create the CD.
I used ISO Buster 1.7 to pull the boot image file from the CD. ISO Buster is a part freeware and part shareware data recovery tool. You can use the freeware capabilities to do what we need to do here, but you will probably want to go make a donation or register it once you see all that it can do. I used Roxio Easy CD Creator to create the CD in this example, but you can adapt these instructions to any CD-burning program.
Follow these six steps to make the CD bootable:
- Download and install ISO Buster. Insert the regular Server 2003 CD into your CD drive and load ISO Buster.
- Expand the CD drive in ISO Buster until you see a floppy disk icon with the Bootable CD label. Click on the bootable CD in the left pane, and in the right pane of ISO Buster you will see a file called Microsoft Corporation.img, which is the boot image file for the CD. Right click on the .img file and select Extract BootImage.img. Remember the location where you save this file; then close ISO Buster.
- Open your CD-burning program. Using Roxio Easy CD Creator, click File/New CD Project/Bootable CD. A screen will pop up: Choose Type of Bootable CD. There are a few settings you need to know about on this screen. The Bootable CD Type: No Emulation; Load segment: 0x7c0; and the sector count should be set at 4. On the bottom of this screen, browse to where you stored that boot image file, import it and click OK.
- You should see two .bin files in the CD project files window. Use the drop-down menu at the top left to select the folder where you stored the file structure -- created from the first article in this series -- and add all of those files into the CD project.
- Customize the CD Project Properties. Click on File/CD Project Properties. The most important action on this screen is setting the File System type to Joliet. If you leave it at ISO9660, you will have to rename a lot of files, and the CD probably won't work right in the end. Add whatever File System information you want on the second tab and then continue to the File Types tab. On this tab make sure the Add All Files radio button is selected and the remaining boxes are not checked. Click OK at the bottom.
- Now you are ready to create the CD. Insert the blank CD and select Record. In a few minutes it will be completed, and you'll have your very own customized Windows Server 2003 installation CD!
The top 10 tips of 2005
Introduction
Tip #1: How to change the Windows XP Product Activation Key Code
Tip #2: Create a bootable USB flash drive -- in a flash!
Tip #3: Create a bootable Windows Server 2003 CD
Tip #4: 8 common causes for 'delayed write failed' errors
Tip #5: Ultimate boot CD packs in recovery, repair utilities
Tip #6: Install Windows Server 2003 silently
Tip #7: Uninstall 'stubborn' programs
Tip #8: What to do when your hard drive fails
Tip #9: Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 volume shadow copy service
Tip #10: 'Unlocker' reveals processes that lock files
Jeff Gilbert is a Systems Management Server and software administrator with the Army at Fort Benning, Ga. He holds the Windows 2000 MCSE, MSCA and Network+ certifications. He can be reached at [email protected].