(Answer) (Category) Linux on PowerPC FAQ-O-Matic : (Category) MkLinux :
How to fix broken passwords/Locked out of MkLinux
Have you forgotten your password or has it somehow become corrupted?  You may 
have to reboot the machine (gasp!).

Note that the machine can frequently be shut down with option-control-power,
which performs a more orderly shutdown than doing a hard reboot.


From here, there are two possibilities.  For DR3, booting single-user may
require a password.  I don't recall.


A. Single user method:

        When you reach the MkLinux selection  screen right after booting, press
        the "S" key to boot into single-user mode (no password needed).

        1. Password clearing method:

                Go to the /etc directory and edit the password file.  The setup is
                username followed by a colon, followed by a bunch of seemingly-
                incoherent data, followed by another colon and more information.
                That incoherent data between the two colons in the password (it's
                encrypted).  Just erase it  (making the password a blank for that
                user).

                Reboot into MkLinux as usual and just press enter for the password.
                Once you're back in MkLinux, you can reset your password with the
                passwd command.

        2. Password replacing method:

                Use the passwd command to set the password.  Generally, it won't
                ask you for the original password if you're root (as you are in
                single-user).  Reboot the machine into multi-user.


B. RedHat Installer Method (pre-DR3, DR3, and later):

        Modify your lilo.conf file (preferences folder) to boot into the
        RedHat installer (you did keep it around, right?) and then do so.
        Pretend that you're installing via FTP, and go about two or three
        screens into the installer.  Then hit command-F2 for a virtual
        console with a shell prompt.

        At this point, you can mount your MkLinux setup with the following
        trick.  First create a mount point (mkdir /mnt) if one doesn't
        exist already.  Then use "mount device mount_point" (w/o the quotes), 
        replacing mount_point with the "/dev/sdxx" or "/dev/hdxx" only
        OMIT the "/dev" portion.  This will cause the installer's version
        of mount to create the relevant device file (in /tmp).  You only
        need to mount the root partition.  At that point, follow the
        instructions for the single-user method, using the password
        clearing method, substituting /mnt/etc for /etc.


Matt Warner, mwarner1@ix.netcom.com
->David Gatwood, marsmail@globegate.utm.edu, etc.
mwarner1@ix.netcom.com, marsmail@globegate.utm.edu, drjlevi@netonecom.net
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