Forgotten root/user Password Password Maintenance

Help! I forgot my root password. How do I log in now?

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

To enter single-user mode, reboot your computer. If you use the default boot loader, GRUB, you can enter single user mode by performing the following:

1. At the boot loader menu, use the arrow keys to highlight the installation you want to edit and type [A] to enter into append mode.

2. You are presented with a prompt that looks similar to the following:

   grub append> ro root=LABEL=/

3. Press the Spacebar once to add a blank space, then add the word single to tell GRUB to boot into single-user Linux mode. The result should look like the following:

   ro root=LABEL=/ single

4. Press [Enter] and GRUB will boot single-user Linux mode. After it finishes loading, you will be presented with a shell prompt similar to the following:

   sh-2.05b#

5. You can now change the root password by typing

   passwd root

   You will be asked to re-type the password for verification. Once you are finished, the password will be changed. You can then reboot by typing reboot at the prompt; then you can log in to root as you normally would.

I've forgotten my user password. How do I get a new one?

Passwords are stored in encrypted files on your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system: users cannot read a file and see their own or other passwords. If you forget your user password, you must create a new one.

If you realize that you have forgotten your pasword while logged in, you can create a new one for yourself. Open a shell prompt and enter the command passwd. The passwd command asks for the new password, which you will have to enter twice. The next time you log in, use the new password.

If you are not logged in when you realize you have forgotten your password, log in as the r