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Just got a refurbished computer with Ubuntu as the OS. Have never even heard of the OS and now I'm trying to learn. When I boot the system, it starts up great. But, if I try to navigate around, it requires a password. Is there a trick to finding the initial password? Please advise.

user279162
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    Have you tried contacting the re-furbisher for the password? – Elder Geek May 07 '14 at 21:18
  • @Sneetsher No, even if that question is in some way aequivalent, it is very different from the perspective of the user asking here. And that user is representing a very valid - and even common - use case: The user wants to try Ubuntu and aquires a used computer - where he may not even know the previous user, not to think of his password. Or he aquires an old computer, and needs to try Ubuntu, which turns out to be installed. So, the use case is: Solving the password reset as first action ever on a unix-like OS. – Volker Siegel May 07 '14 at 23:38
  • Thank you @VolkerSiegel for comment, I just thought about answer (not question itself), the 1st high votes answer should be then the answer he is looking for, no? – user.dz May 08 '14 at 00:08
  • @Sneetsher Oh, I'm just about to finish my own answer, and did not read the related question and it's answers in detail. You are right, that would be a solution. My approach is pretty different, concentrating on building a context for a user who initially has just no idea what he's doing. Roughly, my answer ends with refering the user to that related question or similar to find how to reset the password from a running live CD. Wait a few minutes to see my answer here. – Volker Siegel May 08 '14 at 00:22
  • @VolkerSiegel, never mind, if you think it will add some thing compared to one mentioned. please post it. As it's still open. many others may find it helpful for future reference. – user.dz May 08 '14 at 00:28
  • I'd be really curious about feedback from you, @user279162, whether my answer did provide additionoal help above How do I reset a lost administrative password?. It's really hard to imagine being in your situation, and what would help best; But it would also be very userful to find that out! – Volker Siegel May 08 '14 at 00:52

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No,
there is not trick to find the initial password [1].
But to solve your actual problem, you do not need that [2].

Important: before continuing here, try if the answers on How do I reset a lost administrative password? make sense to you. If yes, use them. Otherwise, continue here, I will give you some context to understand what problem you need to solve, and propose an approach to start.

Normally, an Ubuntu system used by one person has a user name, and a password for that user name, defined during setup. That password can be used to log in at startup, and to allow actions that change system data.
But - important - it can not be used to log in as the system administrator with the user name "root", as you could expect from similar unix-like systems. On an Ubuntu system, user root normally can not log in at all in the usual sense of loging in. So if you are looking for the root password - that does not even exist. You need the user name, and the password for that user, to log in. But if you can not get hold of that password, you can forget about the normal login, and find another way.

You could start the system independently of the installed OS, and reset the password to nothing, or set a password choose. To have the programs you may need available, use an Ubuntu live DVD (or CD, USB-stick etc.) to boot it as an independent OS, that just happens to be a similar version. Then, you have a clean system running, that you are fully in control of.

In your situation, it would be good to use the opportunity to start getting used to the system. One reason is that it's nice that you can try things that may mess up your system, and just restart if tha happens. The other reason is that you now have a simple, normal system, while the old system may have personal configuration changes that could confuse you (and people trying to help).

Now you need to find the hard disk partition that contains the old Ubuntu system, and how to reset the password on that partition, from working from your live CD.
I'll stop here and refer you to other answers. You could start at the same place I mentioned at the beginning: How do I reset a lost administrative password?.
(One approach would be to use the method titled "The Drastic Measures" from the answer of @keepitsimpleengineer - but it is more difficult than others if you are not used to the system. Of course you can just try again if the old system still does not work because of a typo.)

Notes:

  • There is no fixed default password in Ubuntu, in case you are looking for that.
  • This approach does not work if the harddisk containing the old Ubuntu is encrypted.

[1] Except for classic "hacking" approaches - like automatically trying all possible short passwords, or all from a list with known common passwords.

[2] See X/Y problem

Kristopher Ives
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Volker Siegel
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