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Resetting an Active Directory (AD) Administrator password Method-2

blog.payperitem.com, April 4, 2025April 4, 2025

Method 1: Reset via Another Domain Admin

If you have access to another domain admin account, you can reset the password easily:

  1. Log in to a different domain admin account.
  2. Open Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) (dsa.msc).
  3. Navigate to Users or the specific Organizational Unit (OU) where the account is located.
  4. Right-click the Administrator account and choose Reset Password.
  5. Enter the new password and confirm.

Method 2: Reset via Command Line (If Another Admin Account Exists)

  1. Open Command Prompt as an admin.
  2. Run the following command to reset the password:
  3. powershell
  4. net user Administrator NewPassword /domain
  5. Replace NewPassword with the desired password.

Method 3: Reset via NTDSUTIL (If No Other Admin Account is Available)

If you are locked out of the domain and have physical access to the Domain Controller:

  1. Restart the Domain Controller in Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM):
    • Reboot the server.
    • Press F8 before Windows starts.
    • Select Directory Services Restore Mode from the options.
  2. Log in using the local DSRM administrator account (the password was set during domain controller setup).
  3. Open Command Prompt and use NTDSUTIL:
  4. powershell
  5. ntdsutil
  6. Enter the password reset mode:
  7. powershell
  8. set dsrm password reset password on server null
  9. Set a new password and confirm.
  10. Restart the Domain Controller normally.

Method 4: Offline Reset Using a Boot Disk

If you are completely locked out:

  1. Boot from a Windows Server installation or recovery disk.
  2. Open Command Prompt (Shift + F10).
  3. Identify the drive letter of the Windows installation (e.g., D:\Windows).
  4. Replace utilman.exe with cmd.exe: powershellCopyEditmove d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe.bak copy d:\windows\system32\cmd.exe d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe
  5. Reboot normally and click Ease of Access on the login screen.
  6. A command prompt will open. Run: powershellCopyEditnet user Administrator NewPassword
  7. Restore the original utilman.exe:
  8. powershell
  9. move d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe.bak d:\windows\system32\utilman.exe
  10. Restart and log in with the new password.

Method 5: Restore from Backup

If all else fails and you have a System State Backup, restore the AD database to a known good state.

support@payperitem.com

indabhar@gmail.com

Active Directory Server 2025 Windows

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