Using init=/bin/sh , manually edit the /etc/shadow file. Copy the root section from another linux box (that you know the password for) and type it in letter by letter. That should give you a valid root password.
Andrew Tait System Administrator Country NetLink Pty, Ltd E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WWW: http://www.cnl.com.au 30 Bank St Cobram, VIC 3644, Australia Ph: +61 (03) 58 711 000 Fax: +61 (03) 58 711 874 "It's the smell! If there is such a thing." Agent Smith - The Matrix ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stefan Srdic" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <debian-security@lists.debian.org> Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 8:12 AM Subject: Lost root password!! > hi, > > Last night when I attempted to change my root password passwd bunked out on me. It crashed and I received the following message on the console: > > passwd: Critical error - immediate abort > > I thought that I could still use my old root password but cannot. I attempted to boot straight into a shell (init=/bin/sh) and manually expire my root password (so that I could change it on the next login) and ended up with the same results. I've also tried deleting the root passwd to see if I could then re-run passwd as root and change my passwd. No luck. > > I can still log into my system as a normal user but cannot change any users passwords, I get the same error message as above. > > Is passwd in Woody broken? How can I fix my broken root password without harming my system? > > Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. > > Thanks, > > Stef > > > -- > To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
