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[SOLVED] Lost User Password

PostPosted: Aug 12th, '20, 18:48
by essenby
Hi,

Ive just returned to my Mageia 7 after a forced and extended period of using my Windows 10 installation and I've apparently forgotten my User password. I've done a search in here but the only solution I can find is in the Magician Suggests section and is quite old. It suggests editing the boot parameters by adding init=/bin/sh. However, when I installed Mageia I installed ReFind and although it gives me an excellent initial boot menu, there is only the one Mageia boot option and I don't seem to be able to edit that. Is there another way of resetting my user password or am I stuck with a re-install?

Re: Lost User Password

PostPosted: Aug 12th, '20, 22:51
by doktor5000
essenby wrote:I've done a search in here but the only solution I can find is in the Magician Suggests section and is quite old. It suggests editing the boot parameters by adding init=/bin/sh.

That solution is still the regular way to reset a forgotten root password. You can also achieve the same by booting a live cd/dvd and then changing to your installed system via chroot.

But if you've only forgotten your user password, you can simply login as root and set a new password for your user.

Re: Lost User Password

PostPosted: Aug 13th, '20, 15:14
by essenby
@doktor5000 - Thanks for the guidance - I did try the regular way but as I said rEFInd only provided the one icon to boot into Mageia and if I select it it displays the parameters and boots - there is no way to edit them

However, I eventually did what I should have done first and read the rEFInd manual - or at least the tips/instructions at the bottom of the boot-loader screen. Highlighting the Mageia icon and pressing "F2" displays the full range of boot options, highlighting one of them and pressing "F2" again allow you to edit. Simple when you follow the instructions!

By the way - for anyone else with this issue, when you get to that point, depending on your keyboard setup, you may find the the "\" slash is not available. However appending "init-/bin/sh" worked just fine.

Marking this as [SOLVED]