Changing the vCenter Server database user ID and password

To change the vCenter Server user ID for SQL database connections for vCenter Server 5.x and earlier: 

Note: Before making any registry modifications, ensure that you have a current and valid backup of the registry.

    Take a full backup of the registry prior to editing it. Do not skip this step.
    Click Start > Run, type regedit and click OK.
    In the Windows Registry Editor, navigate to:
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMware VirtualCenter\DB (under My Computer)
        For 32-bit versions of vCenter Server running on 64-bit versions of Windows:

        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\VMware, Inc.\VMware VirtualCenter\DB

For vCenter Server 5.0

        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMware VirtualCenter\DB

        Note: To see these keys in a 32-bit version of the Registry Editor in a 64-bit operating system, click Start > Run, type %systemroot%\syswow64\regedit, and click OK.

    Right-click 2 and click Modify.
    Enter the database user ID in the Value data field.
    Click OK.

To change the vCenter Server user ID for SQL database connections for vCenter Server 6.0:

    Stop the vCenter Server service.
    Navigate to: C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\cfg\vmware-vpx.
    Take a backup copy of vpxd.cfg.
    Open vpxd.cfg in a text editor.
    Locate the <DB> element and modify the value for <key_2> to reflect the new database user ID.     ...
    <DB>
    <key_2>database_user_id</key2>
    <key_3>*joqDY/eQvwyLBdLcXXJYZvDAd+FXYY8q7x///vhy4LE=</key_3>
    </DB>
    ...
    If you are using Windows Integrated Authentication to connect to the vCenter Server database, remove the value for <key_3>.
    Save vpxd.cfg.
    Start the vCenter Server service.

    Note: If the vCenter Server database password has changed, follow the steps below to update the vCenter Server database password before starting the vCenter Server service.

To update the password used by the vCenter Server for database connections to the SQL Database, use one of these options:

Follow these steps in VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client for VirtualCenter 2.5 only

        Click Administration > VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration.
        Click Database.
        In the Database Setting page, enter the new password in the Password field.
        Click OK.
    For VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2 and later, the -p command line flag sets the database password in vCenter Server:
        Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator to open a command prompt as an administrator.
        Run this command: 

For vCenter Server 5.5 and earlier

        C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\vpxd.exe -p
        For vCenter Server 6.0:

        C:\Program Files\VMware\vCenter Server\vpxd\vpxd.exe -p

        Note:This is the default path to the vCenter Server installation directory. Change the path appropriately, if required.
        Enter a new password when prompted.

        Note: If changing any SQL authentication modes or credentials (for example, changing from SQL to Windows authentication), ensure that the ODBC System DSN utilized for the vCenter Server database connection is also updated to reflect the credential changes.

        Restart the vCenter Server service.