First Login is in a Loop

[ChiJoan]

I need to login from a Live CD, I guess as Root, to issue a change password as myself. Why? The installation didn't warn me to have different passwords for Root and User. I tried doing it like PcLinuxOS does it, put I got a warning my user password was too short, so I backspaced and made them the same, the install seemed happy, but now it won't let me get to a desktop.

I downloaded via Distrowatch, so I don't have your Live CD/DVD, it only offered to install. Thanks for telling us the problem with KShien!!

Joan in Reno

[tom_]

can't you press CTRL-ALT-F1 or F2, login as root and change your user password?

[ChiJoan]

I pulled out my old book. Running Linux, 4th Edition, but getting into console and with passwd joan seemed to work, yet when it re-booted it was still in the loop. It may have gone a little further, but no desktop. I used the Mageia 2 Dual, will be trying again from the KDE Live CD, I'm tired of the Mint Kick-off menu that most KDE Distros use now.

Thanks, and I didn't know that short-cut you mentioned,
Joan in Reno

[ChiJoan]

I tried to re-install or even boot live from the KDE Live CD that I found on your Downloads, but it seems to not accept any passwords I can guess. I've searched the Forum for Live CD password, but I don't find anything. Now I'm downloading the KDE Live DVD from Distrowatch, which I did on Saturday last, just in case something goofed up, and I burned it at the slowest speed I'm allowed on this DVD writer.

Anything I can try?

Joan in Reno

[tom_]

at boot time, when grub shows the list of OS to boot,
you should 'e' so that you can edit the command line.

add an 1 at the end of the boot line, then press 'enter' to boot.

now you should be root in a terminal on your machine,
and you can change your root password using the passwd command.

then reboot

NB: I haven't my MGA here, some instruction could be wrong

[ChiJoan]

Even the Live CD give the same loop, I've given up, since every ISO file I download has a different size. I'm trying Bodhi and can choose KDE, LXDE or Enlightenment at the moment and it is quite snappy on this AMD Sempron tower. Before I gave up on it, it accepted my changed password, but never got to the desktop anyway.

Joan in Reno