How to Reset AD Password for Windows Server 2000, 2003 and 2008?

Have you ever forgotten Active Directory (AD) password? Do you know how to reset AD password? Is there any Windows password reset software to do AD password reset? If not, what to do to reset AD password? Before answering these questions and do AD password reset, you need to what is active directory, Windows domain and domain controller.

What is Active Directory?

Active Directory is used by system administrators to store information about users, assign security policies, and deploy software. It was released first with Windows 2000 Server edition and refined further in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 and was renamed Active Directory Domain Services. AD components include such domains, domain controllers, trust relationships, forests, organizational units, etc.

What is a domain controller?

According to Wiki, a domain controller is a server that responds to security authentication requests (logging in, checking permissions, etc.) within the Windows Server domain. The domain controllers in your network are the centerpiece of your Active Directory service. It stores user account information, authenticates users and enforces security policy for a Windows domain. When you install Windows Server on a computer, you can choose to configure a specific server role for that computer. When you want to create a new domain, or an additional domain controller in an existing domain, you configure the server with the role of domain controller by installing AD DS.

What is a Domain?

A domain is a concept introduced in Windows NT whereby a user may be granted access to a number of computer resources with the use of a single user-name and password combination.

The domain concept not only allows a user to have access to resources that may be on different servers, but it also allows one domain to be given access to another domain in a trust relationship. In this arrangement, the user need only log in to the first domain to also have access to the second domain's resources as well.

So it is hard to say if there any windows password recovery software can reset AD password. Windows password recovery software like Windows Password Unlocker Enterprise can allow you to reset domain administrator password on Active directory for Windows server 2000/2003/2008.
Steps to reset domain administrator password

* Step 1: Download and install Windows Password Unlocker Enterprise in any available computer.
* Step 2: Run the software and insert a USB flash drive to computer.
* Step 3: Select Domain Administrator and target USB drive, and then click the Burn button to start burning an ISO image file to the USB flash drive.
* Step 4: Click ok when burning process is completed.
* Step 5: Insert the burned USB flash drive to your locked computer and set the computer to boot from USB.
* Step 6: Choose the way to reset AD password.

* 2 options for you to reset domain password
* Option 1: Reset the default domain administrator password to Pa123456
* Option 2: Reset AD password by creating a specified domain administrator account.
* Step 7: Click YES to continue and click Ok when the domain password has been successfully reset.

Now you can log on your domain with the user name of administrator and password of ‘Pa123456’ if you select option 1. If you select option 2, you can log on domain with the username of ‘passkiller’ and password of ‘Pa123456’.

http://www.passwordunlocker.com/knowledge/reset-ad-password.html for more reference.