So we had a tech install a sme server to perform backups for windows servers. He was let go, he did not document it and now refuses to divulge any documentation whatsoever on the box, including passwords. Of course a few days after he is gone, one of the servers has a nasty crash and I need to restore from backup. All I know about this is that it has SSL errors cascading down the console (like
this).
So one step at a time, I need to connect to it to see if it even has any recent backups. I try root / <insert all our known site passwords here> to no avail on the console. So then I try connect to the box via web interface from another local workstation (all I know is its name, "backserver", and it's IP), it says (111) connection refused. I tried telnet which resulted in "cannot connect on port 23". I downloaded putty and tried all the protocols, and connect is refused. I'm assuming he has it locked down fairly well to refuse connections from other machines. So back to the console I go.
It seems the only way to reset the root password is to log in to do it, or at least see what I'm doing on the screen. In order to fix the SSL errors that prevent me from seeing what I'm doing on the console, I need to log in to fix it. Catch-22.
Any suggestions? thanks