1

OK, so my husband and I have had Ubuntu 13.04 I believe for about a week now, or whenever they released it. Yesterday, turn on the computer and his "user" and everything with it, was gone. Mine, still very much in tact, however, the root password was changed.

I have tried changing the password via the terminal after I tried removing it through the advanced root re-write option I found on the net, it showed there wasn't an encrypted password to even remove.

Now, I have been trying to create a USB start up disk so I can re-install Ubuntu, but I still do not have a root password apparently. This is obviously not my "user" password, as I have tried that. I've tried every password I have ever used...nothing.

enter image description here

Mitch
  • 107,631
Alicia
  • 13
  • 4

1 Answers1

1

Can you run "sudo passwd root" in the terminal? This should allow you to create/reset a root password using your own. Worst case, you can always use "passwd root" from recovery mode. (Your fs will have to be mounted in read/write mode.)

djpetti
  • 128
  • I have used the recovery mode way, and it didn't help me at all. I mounted it properly and everything. Could you explain sudo passwd root in a bit more detail? – Alicia May 12 '13 at 05:33
  • it said my username was not in the sudoers file? & that this incident will be reported. Oh geez. – Alicia May 12 '13 at 05:36
  • Very curious. What exactly did it say when you tried to reset the password from recovery mode? Basically, the sudo command will allow you to run another command with super user privileges. Passwd sets the password for a specific user, in this case, root. You can find out more by typing "man sudo" or "man passwd". I assumed you must have done this before, because by default, Ubuntu does not have the root password enabled at all, and you must enable it with this command. – djpetti May 12 '13 at 05:38
  • That's a problem. You can't edit the sudoers file without the root password. Who set up this computer? Whoever made the first account should be in the sudoers file. – djpetti May 12 '13 at 05:41
  • I checked in the system user files, it has my username and my husband's username (which isn't showing up currently in the logon screen) I set up the computer, and I have tried every password we have ever used on this computer (we only have 3 options when it comes to passwords.) I can't do anything without the root password...would it be a time-saver just to use another computer to create a usb boot of ubuntu, and is there a way to destroy the partitions without the root password? – Alicia May 12 '13 at 05:47
  • Perhaps through the BIOS? – Alicia May 12 '13 at 05:48
  • Hmm. The bios won't help you. The only way I know of to destroy partitions completely is to use gparted, (which requires root privileges), or the ubuntu installer from a live cd. (or USB) Your husband is still a user? Do you get an error when you type "login <husband's username>"? – djpetti May 12 '13 at 05:52
  • Cannot possibly work without effective root is the error I get when trying to login to husband's. – Alicia May 12 '13 at 05:56
  • Why do I have the feeling I am totally screwed? – Alicia May 12 '13 at 05:57
  • Run sudo su in a terminal and enter your login password. You should be root then. By default every user can do it, unless you have changed it in the /etc/sudoers file. – grimpitch May 12 '13 at 05:59
  • Yes, I'm frankly not sure you can recover, but I know you can't without effective root. As a last ditch, you could drop down to a shell with Ctrl+Alt+F1, and login to your husbands account there, but that will only help you if he's a sudoer. I'm very worried that it didn't let you set the password from single user mode. – djpetti May 12 '13 at 06:01
  • It said is not in the sudoers file. Incident will be reported – Alicia May 12 '13 at 06:02
  • Yeah. If you can't reset it from recovery mode, you'll have to reinstall. – djpetti May 12 '13 at 06:03
  • Boot from your installation media (CD or USB) in live mode (Try Ubuntu), mount the system partion and check out what happend to your sudoers file, or simply delete the partion, after you have backed up your documents, and reinstall ubuntu. – grimpitch May 12 '13 at 06:07
  • I can't re-install from what I have read on the net and tried. In order to create a startup disk usb, I need the root password. When I try to use the Universal USB installer within Wine, it doesn't detect a drive for the usb stick. – Alicia May 12 '13 at 06:07
  • I would need to create one first...would I be able to do that with another computer, create a startup usb for ubuntu and then use the instructions above? – Alicia May 12 '13 at 06:08
  • Yes, create an ubuntu CD or USB drive on another computer. – grimpitch May 12 '13 at 06:09
  • Ok, that I can do tomorrow. Now, would I have to boot the usb from the bios section and have the computer boot that first as it did when we first installed ubuntu? – Alicia May 12 '13 at 06:10
  • Exactly, boot the same way as when you installed ubuntu. – grimpitch May 12 '13 at 06:14
  • Not unless my 7 year old is extremely smarter than I think she is, and my husband hasn't got a clue about computers for the in-depth side...so unless there was some way to hack into the sudoers file wirelessly, no one could have had access. – Alicia May 12 '13 at 06:20
  • Thanks so much for the help both of you guys. Glad there is at least something I can do - even if it means re-installing. – Alicia May 12 '13 at 06:20
  • I correct myself: only the users that are members of the adm or the sudo group can gain root privileges by sudo. The first user, created by the installer will get it. Which user was created first at installation time? Your husband's? – grimpitch May 12 '13 at 06:25
  • My husband's user was created first. That's why I don't understand what the heck happened to his root access... – Alicia May 12 '13 at 06:27
  • Alright, that's why you can't get root access with your user. On the login screen, there is an option to manually enter a username by "Not on the list?" Try logging in with your husband's user. – grimpitch May 12 '13 at 06:33
  • There is no option to manually input a username on my logon screen. – Alicia May 12 '13 at 06:38
  • Then do the following: Press CTRL+ALT+F1 to switch to a character terminal and try to log in with husband's username there. If it works, run sudo su and enter his password again. You should be root then, so execute passwd and enter a new root password. You can switch back to the graphical screen by ALT+F7 – grimpitch May 12 '13 at 06:49
  • It didn't work. I'll have to just re-install. – Alicia May 12 '13 at 07:12
  • It seems like his user has been deleted. You can still try this guide: http://askubuntu.com/questions/24006/how-do-i-reset-a-lost-administrative-password Boot into recovery mode, get a root terminal, do the remount, and add a new root password. – grimpitch May 12 '13 at 07:18
  • Did that already, didn't work. Actually, that was the exact tutorial I used, and i tried the extreme measures version as well with no luck. – Alicia May 12 '13 at 16:32