How can I find out the ROOT password?

Question

I installed Kubuntu 12.04 on this desktop last September and am the main user of the machine. I can perform most admin tasks such as installing new software with my password, which is also accepted using sudo in a terminal. Some tasks however ask for a root password - the most recent example being when I tried to re-install my HP printer. and my usual password does not work. I have looked at this answer, but it doesn't seem to help as I know my own password. I need to know root's password!

See http://askubuntu.com/questions/231849/how-do-i-avoid-su-ing-to-root — user68186, Mar 12 '13 at 20:00
You should recover your root password. I don't know if there was command to know root password but you can change the password using command sudo passwd — Muhammad Sholihin, Mar 13 '13 at 04:21
FYI: *There is no root password in a default installation, because the root user account is disabled* — Thomas Ward, Jan 30 '14 at 19:55

score 6 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 12 '13 at 20:56

6

Running sudo -i in the console will drop you into "root" mode.

edited Mar 12 '13 at 20:56

Panther

102,067

answered Mar 12 '13 at 20:01

Tron

568

1

sudo -i is prefered due to environmental variables. See http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=6188826&postcount=4 – Panther Mar 12 '13 at 20:55
This is not useful because you also need a password to log as the "root". – skan Oct 18 '13 at 23:35

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 30 '14 at 19:58

Ubuntu by default does not have a root password set and relies on your own password entered via sudo for superuser/sysadmin purposes.

If you are adamant on setting a password for root then the following command will do it but it is NOT needed.

sudo passwd root

I would suggest just using sudo and then enter your own password.

How can I find out the ROOT password?

2 Answers2