How to change the service account password

This article describes how to change the Microsoft Exchange Server service account password after the initial Microsoft Exchange Server installation.

Before you follow these steps, disable the domain Account Lockout policy, and then verify that the new password meets the password policy requirements for the domain, specifically the minimum password length.

To change the Microsoft Exchange Server service account password:

1. In the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program, click the Configuration container.
2. On the File menu, click Properties. Now you see the Properties dialog box for the Configuration container.
3. Click the Service Account Password tab. This displays a Service Account Password Change dialog box.
4. In the Password box, type the new password, and retype the password in the Confirm Password box.
5. Click OK.
   
   The following message is displayed:
   Initializing Service Account Password Change.
   This dialog box displays the changes occurring for all the servers in the site.
   
   When this procedure is complete, the following message is displayed:
   This action has changed the password for the Windows NT Services installed by Microsoft Exchange Server. The password for the Service Account must also be changed in the Windows NT User Manager, or the Services will fail to start.
   To change the service account password in User Manager:
   1. In the Administrative Tools Group on the primary domain controller (PDC) or backup domain controller (BDC), select the User Manager for Domains.
   2. Click the Exchange Server service account.
   3. On the toolbar, click User, and then click Properties.
   4. In the User Properties dialog box, type the new password in the Password box. Retype the password in the Confirm Password box.
   5. Click OK.
      
      On a cluster server, an additional message is displayed:
      
      
      The following is a list of servers that are part of a Microsoft Cluster Server and are part of this site configuration:
      
      <Exchange Network Name>
      
      You need to change the service account permissions on these servers manually.
      To change the service account permissions on these servers manually:
      
      
      1. On both nodes of the cluster, in Control Panel, double-click Services.
      2. Click Startup, and then click Log On As.
      3. Manually change the password for all Exchange Services.
6. Stop and restart the Microsoft Exchange Server services on all servers in your site. This completes the change of the Microsoft Exchange Server service account password of the Exchange Server site.
7. If you disabled the Account Lockout policy for the domain, re-enable it now.
   
   Note You may have to change the password manually on the Override tab of the Site Connector and on any third-party services that use the Exchange Server service account. Some examples are anti-virus applications, third-party connectors and gateways, BackOffice Resource Kit utilities, and the Mbclean utility. Also, you may need to run a Winmsd Complete report to determine whether other services are using the old service account password.

Note If you are using the Exchange Server Mailbox Manager service, you must update the service account password for this service manually. To manually update the password for the Mailbox Manager service:

1. In Control Panel, double-click Services, and then click Microsoft Exchange Server Mailbox Manager service.
2. Click Startup.
3. In the Current Password box, type the new service account password.
4. In the Confirm Password box, type the same service account password.
5. Click OK, and then try to start the service with the new service account password.