Unable to log in to Plesk: unknown user name or bad password

Symptoms

• When logging in to Plesk one of the following errors appears in a browser:

  PLESK_INFO: ERROR: Exception
  Unable to logon user (Plesk Administrator): (1326) The user name or password is incorrect.

  OR

  PLESK_INFO: ERROR: Exception: Unable check file existence: Unable to lookup SID for name Plesk Administrator: (1332) No mapping between account names and security IDs was done.<br> at Plesk impersonation(PipeServer::ServerThread::impersonateWithoutProfile line 786)<br> at (zif_plesk_internal_file_exists line 1507)

  OR

  PLESK_INFO: ERROR: Exception: Unable to get administrator password: The system cannot find the file specified. (Error code 2) at Unable to connect to pipe \\.\pipe\P_4755d610-937d-498b-a70f-6ee61941f472
  at (Con::ClientOverlappedPipe::create line 503)
  at getPassword('pwd')(PleskSrvClient::getInstance line 334)
  at (zif_get_admin_password line 260)

  OR

  PLESK_INFO: ERROR: Exception: Unable to get administrator password: Access is denied. (Error code 5) at Unable to connect to pipe \\.\pipe\P_964acf24-9bd8-4b94-89f7-2c5dc566f924 at (Con::ClientOverlappedPipe::create line 503)
  at getPassword('pwd')(PleskSrvClient::getPassword line 208) at (zif_get_admin_password line 260) Additionally, an exception has occurred while trying to report this error: Zend_Exception No entry is registered for key 'translate' (Helper.php:68)

• The following error can be found in the Event Viewer:

  PLESK_INFO: Unhandled exception
  Execute file name: C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Parallels\\Plesk\\admin\\bin\\plesksrv.exe
  Unable to thread impersonate run without profile: Unable to logon user (\\Plesk Administrator): (1326) Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password.
  Execute file name: C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Parallels\\Plesk\\admin\\bin\\plesksrv.exe

• When trying to start Plesk Management Service in Plesk Services Monitor, one of the following errors appears:

  PLESK_INFO: The process terminated unexpectedly. (Error code 1067) at Start service plesksrv at (service::startStopService line 994)

  OR

  PLESK_INFO: System error 1067 has occurred 
  The process terminated unexpectedly.

  OR

  PLESK_INFO: Windows Could not start Plesk Management Service on Local Computer.
  Error 1067: The process terminated unexpectedly.

• When trying to repair Plesk with Plesk Reconfigurator, the following error message is shown:

  PLESK_INFO: Unable to execute "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plesk\admin\bin\usermng.exe" --install-plesk-admin:
  Change flags failed of user (Plesk Administrator): (1322) This operation is disallowed as it could result in an administration account being disabled, deleted or unable to logon.
  at execute console command --install-plesk-admin(vconsoleapp::start line 122)
  at execute "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plesk\admin\bin\usermng.exe" --install-plesk-admin(vconsoleapp::run line 139)
  Cannot start service plesksrv. System error is: Time out has expired and the operation has not been completed.
  Cannot start service PopPassD. System error is: Cannot start service plesksrv. System error is: Time out has expired and the operation has not been completed.
  Unable to execute "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plesk\admin\bin\websrvmng.exe" --configure-plesk-website:
  The system cannot find the file specified. (Error code 2) at Unable to connect to pipe \\.\pipe\P_6f2c920a-1db3-4b7d-8baf-d029b037caca
  at (Con::ClientOverlappedPipe::create line 503)
  at get shared instance of PleskSrvClient(PleskSrvClient::getInstance line 334)
  at execute console command --configure-plesk-website(vconsoleapp::start line 122)
  at execute "C:\Program Files (x86)\Plesk\admin\bin64\websrvmng.exe" --configure-plesk-website(vconsoleapp::run line 139)

Cause

The "psaadm" and/or "Plesk Administrator" users are missing on the server or lacking the necessary permissions.

Resolution

1. Connect to a Plesk server via RDP.

2. Verify that the "psaadm" and "Plesk Administrator" users exist and have correct options set:

   1. Go to Windows Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools > Computer Management.

   2. In Computer Management console expand Local Users and Groups and click  Users.

   3. If one or both users are missing, recreate them. Right-click on the Users > New User... > and specify the following parameters for each user:

      PLESK_INFO: psaadm
      
      User name: psaadm
      Description: Plesk admin account
      Uncheck "User must change password at next logon"
      Check "User cannot change password" and "Password never expires"

      

      PLESK_INFO: Plesk Administrator
      
      User name: Plesk Administrator
      Description: Plesk Administrator account
      Uncheck "User must change password at next logon"
      Check "User cannot change password" and "Password never expires"

      

      "Plesk Administrator" should be a member of the "Administrators" group:

      • Right-click on "Plesk Administrator" to open its Properties > switch to the Members Of tab > click Add....
      • Type in Administrators and click Check Names.
      • Click OK.

3. After verifying that both users exist, fix permissions:

   1. Go to Windows Start > All Programs > Plesk > Plesk Reconfigurator.

   2. In Plesk Reconfigurator run the following checks one-by-one:

      • Correct disk permissions

      • Check Component and Folder Permissions (Note: Select all components from the list)

4. Restart the Plesk Management Service and Plesk SQL Server services:

   1. Go to Windows Start > All Programs > Plesk > Plesk Services Monitor.

   2. In Plesk Services Monitor check Plesk Management Service and Plesk SQL Server.

   3. Click Restart.

5. Try to access Plesk.

   If Plesk is still not accessible, but with the error below, refer to this KB article:

   PLESK_INFO: Access denied for user 'admin'@'localhost' (using password: YES)