Linux Tips

Just follow the below steps to recover it. 1. Reboot your system and at the GRUB press "e" . Edit the first line and make sure it says "linux single". Then press "b" to boot the new entry line. 2. You will now have access to a BASH prompt. Enter the following commands: cd /etc nano passwd and look for a line somewhere at the top of the file that looks like this: root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash You must remove the "x" from that line so it will look like this: root::0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash And save the file. 3. Run the following command: nano shadow Edit the first line in the shadow file by removing the encrypted password. The line must now look exactly like this: root:::: Now save the file. 4. Reboot the system and log in as a normal user, then set your new root password using the following commands: $ sudo su $ passwd courtesy: http://www.geekinterview.com/talk/15727-linux-tips-recover-u-r-root.html

Setting the default root password: Some Live Linux distributions are created without a root password by default (the root account is inactive). This is particularly true with Debian based distributions like Ubuntu. Setting a root password enables us to access some essential tools such as the synaptic installer. In most cases, having no root password is fine when your running from a Live CD and don't need to do administration tasks, make changes or install additional packages. But for those of us who do want to make administrative changes and save them back to a USB device or local storage device on for example a properly created "casper-rw" partition. Setting the root password might then be necessary. How to set the default root password: This process is known to work on most Debian based LIVE distributions like Ubuntu or Pendrivelinux releases previous to Pendrivelinux 2008. Other distributions may vary. Open up a terminal and type sudo passwd root Follow the onscree...