How to reset root password?
If you are as forgetful as I am, you have probably forgotten what password you have set for root user. Today, I am going to teach you a little tip on how to reset the root password.
In resetting the root user password in Fedora or Red Hat systems, you have to reboot the machine into single mode. To do this:
1. Restart the machine properly.
2. At the screen where you select the Operating system (GRUB boot screen), press any arrow key and highlight the OS you want to use. In this case, highlight the Fedora OS in the list then press ‘e’.
3. Type in the GRUB password if you have setup a password during installation, if any.
4. At the next screen, highlight the line where you can read a line similar to this:
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22.14 …
5. Press ‘e’
6. You will be then enter the screen where you can edit the kernel line. Put the cursor at the end of the line and add the word single. Remember to put space after the preceding word. You should see something like this:
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22.14 … single
7. Then press ‘b’ to boot the kernel.
If everything goes right, the machine will start to boot into single mode and you will be presented with the lovely “#”. In this case, you are already in single mode and you can now issue this command to reset the password:
#passwd <enter>
I have done this in Fedora/Red Hat variants but if you are using Ubuntu, you need a Live CD to reset the password. Next time, I will present how to do this in machines running Ubuntu/Debian variants.
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