How to Find an SA Password

By Lysis

Updated September 15, 2017

The System Administrator (SA) is the password associated with a Microsoft SQL Server. Where "sysadmin" is the typical abbreviation for the network administrator, "SA" is the typical term used to refer to the database administrator. The password is found by using SQL Server Management Studio. From this tool, the password can be reset if it's been forgotten. However, the user changing the password needs to have administrative rights on the server.

Click the Windows "Start" button and select "Programs." In the menu labeled "SQL Server," select "SQL Server Management Studio."

Enter a username and password to access the SQL Server. The username and password needs to have elevated administrative rights. You can also enter the SA password if you are just doing a maintenance reset of the administrative credentials.

Click the "Security" icon under the database section on the left side of the window. This expands the director and shows a list of users configured on the server. In this list, SA is also displayed.

Right-click the "SA" user account. In this window, enter a new password in the labeled text box. Passwords for SA should be alphanumeric with special characters and at least 10 characters long.

Click the "OK" button and close the configuration window. If you are logged in as SA, you will not need to use the new password until you reconnect to the server at a later time.

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