Hi Adam,

No users are installed in a vanilla CMS install. You're thinking of EPiServer Commerce. In a vanilla CMS site you need to login with your windows user. That user will have admin rights (if he is in the local administrator group in Windows) and you can create users with that user.

/T

Hi Adam,

As Toni said, you'll have to create users manually.

If you can't log in to epi using your windows account, then follow this article: http://dcaric.com/blog/episerver-how-to-log-in-to-admin-edit-mode

Or if you want something quicker, follow this one: http://dcaric.com/blog/episerver-how-to-create-admin-users-from-the-code

Hope this helps :)

Toni - I tried logging in with my Windows account, with and without the domain name, but that didn't work.

Dejan - The second article, with the backdoor.aspx worked perfectly. The only bit missing from the post was to change the Role and Membership providers from Multiplexing to SqlServer, as mentioned in the first article.

Thanks very much - I'm in now!

Still a bit confused as to why such hacks are required on first install though. Not the most user friendly introduction to EPiServer. Would have thought it would be easy enough to add some SQL to C:\Program Files (x86)\EPiServer\CMS\7.5.394.2\Database\MSSQL\EPiServerRelease75.sql in order to create an initial login, as the Commerce app appears to.

I think this is the professional way and that Commerce and other CMSs are doing it wrong.

Since you can use a variety of login methods I'd prefer not getting the database cluttered by the default SQL script.

In fact I'd like it also if EPi completely removed the aspnet_-tables and tblWindows-tables that aren't necessary when running for example Federated Security.

Not cluttering up the database with uneeded objects is, I agree, a good thing.

However, if that is the case, then the install routine (which I've discovered this morning is rather flaky - one small error and the whole thing breaks, with no option other than starting all over again) should ask what login method will be used and configure it to allow a login once the site has been installed.

Having to find third party blogs, such as Dejan's (appreciated though it is) and install files like 'backdoor.aspx' just to allow a first time login is hacky and makes EPIServer look incomplete.

I disagree it makes EPi look incomplete, rather the opposite since they can't possibly know what type of security and role setup you need. The SQL role and membership providers are supplied by Microsoft and they ship a configuration tool with Visual Studio so you should already have everything in place to create such a user and the Roles you see fit for your site. Also the whole provider concept is getting old and will more and more often be replaced by Federated Security solutions.

I do agree though that certain setups launched by Deployment Center have been flaky historically. But for later versions you shouldn't need to use Deployment Center. You instead get the Visual Studio add-on and create your site from the "New Project" guides.

https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/4ad95160-e72f-4355-b53e-0994d2958d3e

I agree with Adam.

Some kind of installation wizard which allows developers to set different role / membership providers and create an admin user would be more than welcome.

Many developers who are new to EPi have this problem. Visual Studio addon is great and EPiServer has very good documentation about edit / admin mode and API, but this part is missing.

Hi Dejan,

you are a gem dude, backdoor worked for me.

And yes VS 2013 doesn't shows ASP.NET Configuration tool

Thanks,

MD