Forgotten Password

Q: Using Linux Single

Help! I can't remember my root password. How do I log in now?

A: Use Single-User Mode

You can log in with single-user mode and create a new root password.

Reboot your computer. If you are currently set up to log in to X rather than a console, you will need to press [Ctrl]-[X] when prompted. When you see the boot: prompt, type linux single to enter single-user mode. Some of the filesystems will be mounted, and you will find a bash# prompt when you've entered single-user mode (note that this prompt will look somewhat different than the prompt you're accustomed to).

Now, you can change root's password by typing

bash# passwd root

You'll be asked to re-type the password for verification. Once you're finished, the password will be changed and you can reboot by typing shutdown -r now at the prompt; then you can log in to root as before.

Password Maintenance With Linuxconf

I forgot or want to change my user account password.

Open a shell prompt and log in as root (su - and root password). Then type linuxconf at the prompt. This will open the linuxconf tool.

Click on User accounts to expand that part of the tree and then click on Normal. Under Normal, click on User Accounts again. A list of user accounts will appear.

Select the user name you need a password for and the Base information tab appears. Click on Passwd and a New UNIX password dialog appears. Enter the new password for this user account. If you forgot your old one, you have to select a new one; Linux will not tell you your old password. Click on Accept.