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I have here a PC running Windows Server 2003 that has been in storage for some time, and I cannot log in with my domain account and nobody knows a password for a local account any more.

The domain name that it is trying to log in to matches the current one, but the DC has almost certainly been changed for a newer machine since the last time this one was booted.

What are my options from here?

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If I ran into this problem, I would almost certainly not want to spend too much time worrying why the server couldn't authenticate your credentials against domain. I would grab a utility CD (something like Hiren's Boot Disc), boot into it and use one of the freeware password changing tools to set a new administrator password of your choice.

Then you could get onto the server to actually diagnose the problem. Maybe just rejoining the domain would be enough, but your network config could be different now, or some required services may not be running.

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Are you getting an error when you attempt to log in? If you have two distinct domains that are unrelated but with the same name, you should be getting an error stating there is a problem with the trust between computers.
If the problem computer was a member of the same domain, you should still see it in AD Users & Computers (unless it has been removed, but who actually does that?). If it was never a member of the current domain or has been removed, you need a tool to monkey with the passwords database on the computer, but that's outside the scope of ServerFault.com.

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  • why is using a a tool like msdart outside of scope?
    – tony roth
    Aug 9, 2013 at 19:07
  • When I wrote my answer, I was thinking of the section in the help pages about circumventing security. If I was wrong in my interpretation of the rules, I apologize.
    – saltface
    Aug 9, 2013 at 20:12

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