How to Reset the Password of a Windows VM

To change the administrator password on a virtual machine (VM) with a Windows OS, go to Virtual Machines → select VM → menu → Change Password and enter the new password.
In some cases, such as OS failures, the password may not change. In this case, you can reset the password in recovery mode.
This article contains instructions that can cause the OS to malfunction. Use recovery mode only if the password is not reset through the platform interface.

Example of resetting the password in Windows Server 2019

    .1Set the VM to recovery mode: Virtual machines → select the VM → menu → Recovery mode → Start mode and reboot.
    .2Wait until the recovery mode is started and connect to the VM via VNC or SPICE: Virtual machines → select the VM → menu → VNC (SPICE).
    .3After booting SystemRescueCD, mount the Windows partition:
    .aEnter the command to display all partitions:
fdisk -l
The result of the command execution:

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Mount the required partition:
mount /dev/vda2 /mnt
 /dev/vda2 — partition with Windows
    .4Go to the directory with the system configuration files:
cd /mnt/Windows/System32/config/
    .5Display the list of Windows users:
chntpw -l SAM
The result of the command execution:

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 RID — account ID
 Admin? — is the user the administrator?
    .6Run the chntpw utility to reset the password:
chntpw -u 0x01f4 SAM
 01f4 — administrator account ID
    .7If the account is locked, the utility menu will contain the item "2 — Unlock and enable user account (probably locked now)". In this case, enter "2" to unlock the account.
    .8Enter "1" to reset the account password.
    .9Enter "q" to exit the utility and "y" to save the changes made.
    .10Check the result of the utility actions:
chntpw -l SAM
The result of the command execution:

https://slite.com/api/files/qzDJtGqNadR3vp/imported-image?apiToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6IjIwMjMtMDUtMDQifQ.eyJzY29wZSI6Im5vdGUtZXhwb3J0IiwibmlkIjoiSVNqQWliYmZsYjZoV2wiLCJpYXQiOjE3MzIyMTM3NTIsImlzcyI6Imh0dHBzOi8vc2xpdGUuY29tIiwianRpIjoiTkpBc3VuWVhjd2dHWEsiLCJleHAiOjE3MzQ4MDU3NTJ9.wPUMdVLyiGjIqbvX7n6aoBvbV1_GCpELoSSa_pZwlCY
The "BLANK" status for the Administrator user means that the password has been reset.
    .11Disable the VM's recovery mode: Virtual machines → select the VM → menu → Recovery mode → Disable mode and reboot.
    .12Connect to the VM via VNC or SPICE and set a new password using the OS tools.