Re: Reset root password

["nate" <debian-user@aphroland.org>]

Matthew Daubenspeck said:
> I have acquired a "hand me down" debian potato box that I need to do some
> serious overhaul work on, but the old admin doesn't remember the root
> password.
>
> Does anyone have a quick and dirty FAQ or doc on how to reset/change the
> root password?

if its using lilo the easy way is when you see the LILO prompt hit shift
then type

linux init=/bin/bash

then once the system is up do

mount / -o remount,rw

then edit /etc/shadow and delete all the stuff between the first and
second colons,

then

mount / -o remount,ro

reboot

when it comes up login as root(you shouldn't be prompted for a password.

another way is to boot with a boot disk and mount the drive and edit
the file

nate