OH NO i locked my self out of my admin account

[zipster522]

Hi my name is zach and just recently while I was using my new computer i forgot my admin password and am stuck in another created account stuck with filters. it would be excellent if I could get a step by step process in how to get back into it!

 

[maruti.8085]

yes you can single user mode and changet the root password. and also try the grub using chroot mode and try to use hash password in there.

 

[MikeyD]

Not sure what version you're on, but try this:

http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/35929/how-can-we-change-root-password

 

[ryanvade]

Please say what distro you are using. It could be a simple as editing a grub kernel line or as difficult as using backtrack/kali to learn the new password.

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

You can also boot via a live-boot CD, like sysresccd, then chroot into the hard disk. Now you're in as root, so you can change passwords all you want.

 

[Rodrigo]

You can mount your root partition with a LiveCD and edit the file /etc/passwd and remove the password section.

Before:

root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash

After:

root::0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash

 

[Videodrome]

You can also boot via a live-boot CD, like sysresccd, then chroot into the hard disk. Now you're in as root, so you can change passwords all you want.

I once locked myself out of an installed Knoppix with ViSudo. I was able to use the original Knoppix Live CD to access my file system and undo my mistake lol.

 

[JDG]

You can mount your root partition with a LiveCD and edit the file /etc/passwd and remove the password section.

I've never tried it this way before, only modifying /etc/shadow.