
- Sql server sa account locked out password#
- Sql server sa account locked out windows#
Drop down boxes not working in SQL Server 2012 Configuration Manager.
Now you can re add in any deleted logins, and assign sysadmin role membership as needed. Start the SQL Server service as normal using configuration manager, and log in with your newly created sys admin account. Go back to the first command window and stop the single user mode SQL instance by pressing +. Sql server sa account locked out password#
The -E tells sqlcmd to establish a trusted connection, and this is why we should be logged in as a local administrator at this point.ĬREATE LOGIN rescue WITH PASSWORD = Add the login to the sysadmin group:ĮXEC sp_addsrvrolemember, For a default instance:įor a named instance: sqlcmd -E -S 'machine name\instance name'
Open another command window and connect to the instance with sqlcmd. Start SQL Server in single user mode: for a default instance:įor a named instance: sqlservr -m -s 'instance name'. Open a command prompt and navigate to the binn folder of your SQL Server instance. Stop the SQL Server engine service using configuration manager. My domain/windows account is a local administrator on my machine. I have a SQL Server instance with the sa account disabled and all other logins removed to simulate a situation were I am locked out of SQL Server. No downtimeįor when your system requires extremely high availability, such as 99.9999% up-time, there is a method which can be used without shutting down SQL Server. Check out Aaron Bertrand’s ( t | b) article on Recover access to a SQL Server instance for details on that method.This is a very cool and useful tip if you find yourself locked out of the sysadmin role in sql server. Use dbatools’ Reset-SqlAdmin cmdlet to have this taken care of for you by PowerShell. Start the SQL Agent service (if desired). Remove the single user mode startup parameter. Recreate the sysadmin account / grant appropriate permissions. I recommend using sqlcmd.exe to prevent the client from trying to open multiple connections. Log into the server with a local administrator account. Add the -m (or -f) startup parameter on the Startup Parameter tab. Right-click on the SQL Server service and select Properties. Open the SQL Server Configuration Manager. When in single user mode, a local administrator has implicit sysadmin access to the instance. The second and recommended method is to run SQL Server in single user mode. You could restore the master database from backup but you would need to restore a version which is older than the lock issue. Recreate system objects which are now missing. Attach all of the user databases which were previously attached to the old instance.
I do not recommend this method because of how invasive it is. The first method is to reinstall the SQL Server instance. Both of these methods require downtime of the instance. Straight out of books online, there are two supported methods for accessing a locked out SQL Server instance. By removing the login or forgetting the sa password, you will need to regain access of your locked out instance withe more invasive measures than before. Unfortunately, the change makes it easier for a DBA to accidentally lock himself/herself out of the instance.
Sql server sa account locked out windows#
The principle of least privilege would imply that even system administrators who handle patching and management of Windows do not require access to the data which resides on the server. Microsoft removed this feature in an attempt to increase security. Beginning with SQL Server 2008, local administrators are no longer SQL Server sysadmins by default.