How to Change Local Admin Password
Every so often, it’s good practice to change local admin password for Windows OS.
And I think most of computer users are performing this practice. However, frequent
passwords changing can cause passwords forgotten. So here, I’d like to share some
ideas on how to reset local admin password when you forgot it.
Occassion1: Your computer is a Domain Server or Controller
In Windows Server 2000/2003(R2)/2008(R2), if the machine is a Domain Controller,
other users except for the domain administrator can logon to system. This is because
local admin password doesn’t have the authorization to login in Domain Controller
for interactive logon is not allowed in the local policy. So, under this circumstance,
you actually do not have a “real” local administrator. Similarly, you cannot reset local
admin password. Just forget it, because you can still use the domain admin to access
to your machine.
Occassion2: Your computer is a Domain User
When your computer with Windows Server 2000/2003(R2)/2008(R2) is a member of
a special domain, not the domain administrator, you can access to your PC with 2
kinds of logon methods—domain administrator logging and local admin or standard
user logging. So, in this time, if you forgot local admin password, you can do the
local administrator password reset as follows:
Step1: Find a credible password reset tool through the Internet.
Step2: Here I trust Windows Password Recovery Ultimate program and decide to
use it. So first download, install, and run it into an accessible computer.
Step3: Insert a blank CD/DVD/USB Flash Driver into that computer. (Note: not the
locked one.)
Step4: In the interface of Windows Password Recovery Ultimate program, click
“Burn” icon to burn the program ISO image file into that blank device.
Step5: Insert the newly burned CD/DVD/USB Flash Driver into the target computer,
and set computer boot from CD/DVD/ or USB Flash Driver. Next, reboot the
computer.
Step6: Once the computer is restarted, an interface will show up. You can see two
kinds of Windows Path: C:\WINDOWS and D:\WINDOWS listed there. You just
choose the former one to change local administrator password, while the latter one
is for domain admin password. Next click “Reset Your Password” → “Next”. Now
find your local admin account, click it, and then click “Next”. After finished, click
“Reboot” to end all the whole process. Now you can use the newly changed local
admin password to logon to your PC.
Occassion3: Your computer is neither a Domain Controller nor a Domain User
Computer being locked by forgetting Windows local admin password is the most
common problem when using Windows XP/7/Vista/2000/2003/2008. But here, I
assure you that it is not a big deal at all, you can easily find or change your forgotten
local admin password. As for the easiest solution on how to change local admin
password is what I have introduced in Occasion 2, please follow those step-by-step
instructions when you are in need.
Source:
http://www.windowspasswordrecovery.net/article/change-local-admin-password.html