The forgotten Windows Server 2003

This here reminds me of the box that's quietly humming in my home office and serves as my domain controller, firewall, RAS and DSL gateway. I upgraded the machine (a rather old 400 MHz Compaq) to Windows Server 2003 the day before I flew to TechEd Malaysia last year (August 23rd, 2003). I configured it to auto-update from Windows Update and reboot at 3:00AM in case updates have been applied.

Guess what: I got back home from that trip (which included 4 days touring the Angkor temples in Cambodia and another 10 days hanging out at the beach on Thailand's Ko Samui island) and realized that I forgot the Administrator password. Tried to get in to no avail. I've got rebuilding the box on my task list, but there's no rush. I haven't really touched or switched off the machine ever since. It keeps patching itself every once in a while and otherwise simply does its job.