Registry key for Enforce Password Expiration on sql server for sa user

Question

I am using wix installer to check the Checkbox for "Enforce Password Expiration" under Securty -> Logins for the sa user after sql express is installed. I guess the easiest way is to edit the Registry key to check this checkbox automatically. Can anyone help me where the relevant registry key is located.

Answer 1

The “Enforce Password Expiration” option is not stored within the Windows registry.

It’s typically stored within the SQL server itself, and I believe a T-SQL script for it would be something along these lines:

 ALTER LOGIN [sa] WITH CHECK_EXPIRATION=ON, CHECK_POLICY = ON

Which you can execute using sqlcmd from within your WiX installer or as a custom action.

For example:

sqlcmd -S .\SQLEXPRESS -U sa -P <your_password> -i "path\to\EnablePasswordExpiration.sql"

Might work.

Obviously with your actual password and the actual path to the script.