If you want to change your ‘sa’ password with SQL Server Management Studio, here are the steps:
- Login using Windows Authentication and “.\SQLExpress” as Server Name
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Change server authentication mode – Right click on root, choose Properties, from Security tab select “SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode”, click OK
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Set sa password – Navigate to Security > Logins > sa, right click on it, choose Properties, from General tab set the Password (don’t close the window)
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Grant permission – Go to Status tab, make sure the Grant and Enabled radiobuttons are chosen, click OK
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Restart SQLEXPRESS service from your local services (Window+R > services.msc)