From: Justin on

We are using SQL Server 2008.

As an administrator on the box (part of the admin group), I assumed I
could use Windows authentication to log into sql server.

However, it is giving me a login failure.

#1) How can I verify that sql server is set up to use windows
authentication?
#2) If not, is there a way to adjust the setting (via regedit or other
means)?
#3) Can I assume that the admin group has the rights to login into SQL
Server (this may be an assumption that is no longer valid). What
group would a user need to be in to be able to have the ability to
authenticate on the sql server (through enterprise manager).
From: Erland Sommarskog on
Justin (kfwolf(a)hotmail.com) writes:
> We are using SQL Server 2008.
>
> As an administrator on the box (part of the admin group), I assumed I
> could use Windows authentication to log into sql server.
>
> However, it is giving me a login failure.
>
> #1) How can I verify that sql server is set up to use windows
> authentication?

It is. You cannot disable Windows authentication.

> #3) Can I assume that the admin group has the rights to login into SQL
> Server

No. Up to SQL 2005, the group BUILTIN\Administrators was by default
added when the server was installed, and you had to drop it, if you
did not want it.

Starting with SQL 2008, BUILTIN\Administrators is no longer added by
default, but when you install SQL 2008, you have to specify an account
that is to have sysadmin rights on the server.

> What group would a user need to be in to be able to have the ability to
> authenticate on the sql server (through enterprise manager).

Primarily you should ask the person who installed SQL Server which
user/group he specified.



--
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, esquel(a)sommarskog.se

Links for SQL Server Books Online:
SQL 2008: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/cc514207.aspx
SQL 2005: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/bb895970.aspx
SQL 2000: http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinfo/previousversions/books.mspx

From: alen teplitsky on
On Mar 5, 3:42 pm, Justin <kfw...(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
> We are using SQL Server 2008.
>
> As an administrator on the box (part of the admin group), I assumed I
> could use Windows authentication to log into sql server.
>
> However, it is giving me a login failure.
>
> #1) How can I verify that sql server is set up to use windows
> authentication?
> #2) If not, is there a way to adjust the setting (via regedit or other
> means)?
> #3) Can I assume that the admin group has the rights to login into SQL
> Server (this may be an assumption that is no longer valid).  What
> group would a user need to be in to be able to have the ability to
> authenticate on the sql server (through enterprise manager).

which account are you using to run SQL server? we had something like
this when we started using a custom account for every server. i think
it was a bug if you logged on as a different account to install SQL as
well. but i think MS fixed it. we had a PSS case about it years ago
and supposedly we found this bug. which version of SQL 2008 are you
running?