Adding an administrator user to SQL Server 2008

Question

How do you add an administrator user to SQL Server 2008?

Answer 1

If you're doing it via T-SQL:

Granting a Windows Login the ability to connect to SQL Server:

CREATE LOGIN [Domain\User] FROM WINDOWS;

or

CREATE LOGIN [Domain\Group] FROM WINDOWS;

If SQL Server-based login:

CREATE LOGIN [LoginName] WITH PASSWORD = 'SomePassword';

After that, you can do one of two things. You can add it to the membership of the sysadmin fixed server role using sp_addsrvrolemember:

EXEC sp_addsrvrolemember 'LoginName', 'sysadmin';

or you can grant the login CONTROL SERVER permissions:

GRANT CONTROL SERVER TO [LoginName];

Answer 2

Before that I think we need to be able to login to SQL Server first. I have experienced being a server administrator, but I couldn't login since SQL Server was installed by a Domain Admin account.

So you might need to start SQL Server with command-line option -m (single user mode),

sqlserver.exe -m 

and then do as K. Brian Kelley said.

More step-by-step instructions can be found in SQL Server 2008: Forgot to add an administrator account?

Answer 3

Hmm, there are two different things this could mean.

1. How do I create a new user account that has administrative rights?
2. I already have a windows user that is an administrator, how do I add that user to SQL?

Answers:

1. In SQL Management Studio, create a new login and add it to the sysadmin server role.
2. In SQL Management Studio, create a login connected to the Windows account or a group that it's a member of. You might well find BUILTIN\Administrators is already there.

Answer 4

For completeness, the GUI method

From SQL Server Management Studio, under the Security / Logins folder for the database, right click Logins and select New Login:

Be sure to use the full domain\username format in the Login Name field, and check the Server Roles list to make sure the user gets the roles you want.