# Restore Factory Settings on a server without having the admin password.



## barryscott (Aug 27, 2014)

Hi, I'm Barry Scott,

Recently I was given a computer from the business that I worked at which was closing down. I was planning on restoring it to factory settings but found out that because I'm not an administrator of the server at the business I wasn't able do this. I need a way to restore the computer to factory settings without having use the administrator password. I _have _the admin password but as I have taken it home it's not in the server range meaning I can't access it.

Is there any way of restoring the computer to factory settings without the admin being involved.

Thank you.


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

I don't understand why this is an issue--probably because I don't have knowledge of domains.

Are you trying to use the Recovery partition or boot to Recovery DVDs? In either case, exactly what do you do and when/how does the lack of the server get in the way?


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## CoolBurn (Dec 5, 2013)

More than likely it was part of an Active Directory Environment which means it had Group Policies in place and since it's not longer connected to the Domain/ Active Directory the Admin/PSW won't work or do what you want.
Like Terry said try using the Recovery methods.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

I was given a Aptiva that was used as sound system in a church my sister is a tech at. 
I had the same trouble of it asking for password. I was even given the password but it was no longer able to connect to the network it was on.
Lucky I was also give the IBM recovery CD's that came with the PC but I lost the XP Pro and went back to 98SE and that's just not the same. 

Ask them if you do not have the CD's that came with the PC if you could get them.


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## zx10guy (Mar 30, 2008)

This isn't a network issue. It belongs in the server sub forum.

Anyways, there is no such thing as restoring to "factory defaults" for a server OS. If this server was part of a domain, you need to hope someone had logged on to the server with the admin user you have the password for. That's if this is the domain admin account. If it is the local admin account to the server and this a non-AD server, you have to specify to the server OS this is a login using a local server account. To do this, you have to enter [machine/server name]\[local user account] instead of using just the user account.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

What you really want to do is boot from a Windows disc, delete the partitions on the hard drive, and install a new copy of Windows. That doesn't require any Windows/Domain passwords and will remove all of their data and settings and give you a clean install of your own copy of Windows/Linux.


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## sandybeach2000 (Oct 23, 2013)

You need an operating system disk and license key. If you have those for whatever OS you want to run, boot from the OS disk. If it's a recent version of Windows, select "Custom installation," delete the drives' partitions, and install the OS from there.

Without an OS disk and valid license key, you'll go nowhere. If Linux is an option, the OS is free. Download an ISO (complete OS). Burn it to a DVD. Then you can install from the ISO or run a complete Linux setup from the ISO. Which Linux? See http://distrowatch.com

If you want Windows (any version, desktop or server), use the DVD and license you have - or buy one. Caution: if you buy a "used" Windows disk, make sure you have some kind of recourse with the vendor. People have bought Windows disks, only to discover that they can't activate Windows because the license (or license key) is invalid. Also watch out for 90-day "trial" versions.


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