Objective
In some cases, you might need to reset a Windows password. This guide will show you how to reset the password of your Windows user account and successfully log in to your VPS again.
Requirements
- The VPS must be in rescue mode
Instructions
Connect to the VPS via VNC in the OVHcloud Control Panel with the login details you have received by email.
Type the following commands to mount the remote file system:
ntfsfix /dev/sdb2 mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sdb2 /mnt
Now start the password reset procedure:
cd /mnt/Windows/System32/config chntpw -l SAM
You will see a list of users. Take note of the administrator account (or the account you wish to change the password for). In this example, we will use Administrator. Please note that the commands are case-sensitive.
chntpw -u Administrator SAM
Press 1 and Enter to clear the password. Press q to quit the password change prompt. Afterwards, press y to write the changes to the file.
You can now carry out a hard reboot in the OVHcloud Control Panel by clicking the more options ... button in the Boot section and selecting Reboot my VPS. Confirm the reboot in the pop-up window that appears.
When logging in to your VPS now, you will not have to enter a password to log into a Windows session.
Once logged in to your Windows session, press CTRL + ALT + DELETE and then click on Change a password. If you are using the VNC console, click on the button on the top right that says Send CtrlAltDel.
Leave the Old password field blank and type your new password twice. Make sure the passwords provided match.