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[Ubuntu] How to Reset your Ubuntu Password

June 11th, 2009

Picture this…you set up Ubuntu, and forgot the password you had set for it. Or, someone gave you a computer running Ubuntu, but not the password. The password is an essential part of the Ubuntu experience. To make any changes in the system, you need to log in as root through the Terminal, and guess what it requires…a password.

This guide will explain how you can reset Ubuntu’s password:

1- Boot into ‘Recovery Mode’

If you have a single-boot (Ubuntu is the only operating system on your computer), you may have to press the Escape key during bootup in order to see the boot menu. If you have a dual-boot (Ubuntu is installed next to Windows, another Linux operating system, or Mac OS X; and you choose at boot time which operating system to boot into), the boot menu should appear without the need to press the Escape key. -thanks www.psychocats.net

2- Select the ‘recovery mode’ kernel

3- After the recovery boot-up process has completed- go down to the ‘Drop to root shell prompt’ option, and press Enter

The ‘Root’ account is the highest level of administrator in Linux, so be very careful what commands you enter into the root terminal

4- Once you’re at the root shell prompt, if you have also forgotten your user name, type:

ls /home

That’s a lowercase L, and not a capital i, in ls.

5- You should see a list of the users on your Ubuntu installation. In this case, I’m going to reset Linda Williams’s password.

To reset the password, type:

passwd username

where username is the username you want to reset. In this case, I want to reset Linda’s password, so I type:

passwd linda

6- You will be asked for a new password. When you type the password you will get no visual response acknowledging you’re typing. Your password is still being accepted.

Type the password and hit Enter when you’re done. You’ll be asked to retype the password. Do so and hit Enter again.

7- Now the password should be reset. Type:

exit to return to the recovery menu.

From the recovery menu- select ‘resume normal boot’ – you should now know the new password

Entry Filed under: Linux,Ubuntu