How can I reset a forgotten sa password?

Question

I am using SQL server 2008 r2. When I was installing, I had chosen the mixed mode of SQL authentication.

I have given sa as user name and given some password then I forgot the password.

I don't know how to change the user password or delete that and create new user log-in?

When installing a ms sql server it is not advisable the `mixed mode` option for beginner. — spajce, Feb 15 '13 at 16:12
Flagged to be migrated to [**dba@stackexchange.com**](http://dba.stackexchange.com/faq), where you can get better answers. — Mahmoud Gamal, Feb 15 '13 at 16:24
possible duplicate of [Recover sa password](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11475970/recover-sa-password) — Pondlife, Feb 15 '13 at 17:07

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 15 '13 at 16:11

1

Try:

exec sp_password null, '<new password>', 'sa'

Run this as a sysadmin user, substituting with whatever new password you want.

answered Feb 15 '13 at 16:11

muhmud

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FYI sp_password is depreciated. They recommend using ALTER LOGIN now since sp_password will be going away soon. – Kenneth Fisher Feb 15 '13 at 16:16

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 15 '13 at 16:17

0

If you can log into your system as a sysadmin then run the following.

ALTER LOGIN sa WITH PASSWORD = 'xx'

If you can't log in as the sysadmin but can at least log into the server as an administrator let me know and I'll send you a link on how to fix your problem.

answered Feb 15 '13 at 16:17

Kenneth Fisher

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I found the link anyway. Go to SQLSkills here: http://www.sqlskills.com/insidercontent/insidernewsletters.asp. You may have to sign up as a "SQL Skills Insider" to get there, I'm not sure. Either way if you look at the October 29th, 2012 edition it has a video on connecting to your instance sysadmin. – Kenneth Fisher Feb 15 '13 at 16:22

How can I reset a forgotten sa password?

2 Answers2