Recover SQL Database Password – SQL Server Management Studio

The title of this article confirms its motive, but it is easy to understand the scenario when you have decent information about it. SQL Server Management Studio (SQL Server), which is developed by Microsoft is a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS). It is used to store SQL (Structured Query Language) code which creates database files, stores all the information in it, and is managed in such a way that could be retrieved whenever required. The database format created here is in .mdf format. It is secured with a password that can be different for different users. All big organizations which deal with bulk data, use SQL servers to manage it.

System Requirements for SQL Server

It is not compulsory to have a server Operating System to run SQL Server Management studio. SQL Server 2005, 2008 or 2008 R2 can be installed and configured on your Windows 7 machine as well. Whereas to install the latest version i.e. SQL 2014, you need Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8. You may read more about it on Microsoft.

Working with SQL Server Management Studio

The default user which is created for the database server is “SA“. It is an Administrator account and abbreviation of “SQL Administrator“. There are many employees in an organization, and maybe few can work with SQL databases (MDF files) but the majority of them are laymen. To make it easy for all the users for making the entries in the SQL database, a different GUI (Graphical User Interface) is programmed which is connected to the main SQL server.

This GUI gives an easy interface to the user in the format of a form. You must have filled out online forms which are very easy to work with. Such forms are connected to a relational database like SQL.

User Management by SQL SA

There can be a number of SQL users created by the SQL Administrator. The SA creates the required users and their usernames. The default password can be set to the same credentials for all the users which can be changed by individuals.

Now here comes the issue you have been waiting for! If an SQL user forgets their password, what would it do? Well! the user can contact the SQL SA in such cases. Being an administrator, it is an easy task to reset the user’s password and assign a new one.

Change user Password using SQL Server Configuration Manager

1. Click on Start button ⇒ All Programs ⇒ Microsoft SQL Server 2014 (your SQL version) ⇒Configuration Tools, and then click on SQL Server Configuration Manager.
2. In SQL Server Configuration Manager, click on SQL Server Services.
3. In the details area, right-click on SQL Server (<instancename>), and click on Properties.
4. In the SQL Server (<instancename>) Properties dialog box, Log On tab, for the account listed in the Account Name box, type the new password.
5. The new password will be active immediately, without restarting SQL Server.

To change the password used by the SQL Server Agent service

1. Click on Start button ⇒ All Programs ⇒ Microsoft SQL Server 2014 (Your SQL version), ⇒ Configuration Tools ⇒ SQL Server Configuration Manager.
2. In SQL Server Configuration Manager, click SQL Server Services.
3. In the details pane, right-click on the SQL Server Agent (<instancename>), and then click Properties.
4. In the SQL Server Agent (<instancename>) Properties dialog box, on the Log On tab, for the account listed in the Account Name box, type the new password in the Password and Confirm Password boxes, and then click OK.

On a stand-alone instance of SQL Server, the password takes effect immediately, without restarting SQL Server. On a clustered instance, SQL Server might take the SQL Server resource offline, and require a restart. (Source – Microsoft)

Lost Master.MDF file Password

Now the scenario is different here. If the password of Master.mdf file is compromised or forgotten, you cannot reset it. Why? Because it is the main file managed by the SQL SA which carries all information about all the users as well. In such cases, you cannot access your SQL Server database.

How to Reset/Renew SQL Server Password?

Unfortunately, the manual method cannot be applied because the user needs administrator rights to reset and allot a new password. To recover the password of the SQL server database, you need a third-party tool MS SQL Server Password Recovery tool by SysInfoTools can give you the ability to set a new password to the SQL database. This gives you access to your SQL server within a few seconds, and believe me that it is done within a few seconds and your SQL Server Management Studio is back in your access.

Note – I recommended you a commercial ware third-party tool which is not my property. Therefore I suggest you to try the demo version of this tool before initiating any purchase.

 

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