On Sat, Nov 03, 2007 at 08:47:27PM -0700, Redefined Horizons wrote:
I've run into a problem after I performed the following:
[1] Changed the password for my root user with the usermod command.
[2] Changed the password of a non-root user with the usermod command.
according to man usermod, the --password command expects an encrypted
password. did you supply encrypted passwords?
[3] Added a new user with a password using the useradd command.
After making these changes I could no longer log in as the root user
or the non-root user for whom I changed the password. I also could not
log in as the new user. I tried this with both old and new passwords.
(All user names were recognized, but Debian is telling me the
passwords are incorrect.)
I booted with the System Rescue CD and followed the advice at this link:
http://www.debianadmin.com/forgot-root-password-or-reset-root-password-in-debian.html
When I edited the etc/shadow file I found the passwords for the root
user, non-root user, and new user to be exactly as I had set them with
the usermod and useradd commands. The passwords are the same ones that
failed. I reset them using nano and System Rescue CD.
did you reset them or delete them? I think you need to delete them
(remove the characters between the first and second colon) because
they get stored in an encrypted method. You'd have to know what wacky
string to type so that the encrypted output matches whatever plain
text is in there...
I think go back in through system rescue cd, delete the passwords, log
in with blank passwords and then change them using passwd.
After a reboot the original passwords, the new passwords, and the
passwords reset using the System Rescue CD all failed.
Note: I had one existing non-root user whose password I did not
modify. I can still log into my system using this user. I am know
backing up that users data in case I have to reinstall.
Does anyone have any idea what is going on? I'm really wishing that I
wouldn't have reset that root password now. It's the last time I'll
ever do that.
well, better to learn to do it properly than not do it at all...