How
can I change the Recovery Console administrator
password on a domain controller? |
When you use the Recovery Console (RC), the system
uses the account passwords in the local SAM file. But
if a system is a domain controller (DC), it doesn't
use the local SAM file, so changing the Administrator
password changes the Active Directory (AD) account and
not the local SAM password. To modify the SAM password,
perform the following steps:
- Shut down the DC on which you want to change the
password.
- Restart the computer. When the system displays the
selection menu during the restart process, press F8
to view advanced startup options.
- Select Directory Service Restore Mode.
- After you successfully log on, to change the local
Administrator password, at a command prompt, type
the following command:
net user administrator *
- Restart the computer.
If you don't know the password, you can demote the
DC to a regular server, change the password, then promote
the system to a DC. You can also copy the SAM in the
%SystemRoot%\Repair folder to the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config
folder.
How
can I configure the recovery console in Windows
2000 and later to not require me to enter the
administrator password? |
To configure the recovery console to not require
you to enter the administrator password, perform the
following steps:
- Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
- Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Setup\RecoveryConsole registry
subkey.
- Double-click SecurityLevel, set its value to 1
to not require password entry (or 0 to require the
user to enter the password), then click OK.
- Close the registry editor.
You can also use the Microsoft Management Console
(MMC) Local Security Settings snap-in (go to Local
Policies, Security Options, "Recovery console: Allow
automatic administrative logon") to configure this
setting.
How
can I determine whether my machine started in
Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Command Prompt, or
Safe Mode with Networking? |
When you start your machine in Safe Mode in Windows
2000 or later Windows OSs, you can select from several
options: Safe Mode with Command Prompt, Safe Mode,
and Safe Mode with Networking. The OS sets an environment
variable called Safeboot_Option when you start a machine
in Safe Mode. To examine the status of this variable,
enter the following at the command prompt:
echo %safeboot_option%
Possible values include
- Minimal - If the machine is in Safe Mode
- Minimal - If the machine is in Safe Mode with
Command Prompt
- Network - If the machine is in Safe Mode with
Networking
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