Lost Administrator Password for Windows 2003 R2 Enterprise Server [duplicate]

Solution 1:

I use System Rescue CD for any passwords I need to obtain. It's important to note that these will just change the password on your local machine. You'll use fdisk -l to find the partition you want, then mount it and change the password via SAM.

Solution 2:

I always use Hirens BootCD, it uses same or similar program or the same program to 1 and 2 from your list. You can even promote a different user to Administrator. This BootCD is also loaded, loaded (yep I said it twice) with great tools, both from the boot menu and after the boot.

It's important to note (although fairly rare) that this type of password tool won't work with encrypted passwords. I'd be very surprised if your 2003 server had encrypted passwords turned on (I've never seen a server with it on in a production environment before).