0

I had never heard of Ubuntu, but after using it with the limited guest access I would like to have more access. Play with it and see if I can learn to use it properly. I don't want to uninstall it, I just want to assign a new admin and password for full access. The previous admin no longer owns this netbook. I have made no serious attempts to recover the password because, although I am uneducated with modern technology, I am smart enough to know clicking the wrong button can cause severe damage. I really want to experience Ubuntu thoroughly and form my own opinion.

IanC
  • 931
Lisa Johnson
  • 9
  • Reinstall ubuntu. You will be able to set your own password. – Linuxuser001 Jul 14 '16 at 00:01
  • I agree with you, but in this situation is it best to suggest an alternative or to answer the question at hand, even if it isn't the right approach? Just asking; I also simply elaborated on your suggestion rather than answering the question directly, but I'm actually not sure of the best way to handle it. If you have any thoughts there? – P Smith Jul 14 '16 at 00:38
  • I would like to thank all of the community or their patience, I know to you tech savvy members are rolling your eyes and saying to yourselves ..please get it right this time.Instead of resetting the password,and having someone elses files, should I put Ubuntu on a usb data stick and start fresh?Can I do that without admin password? – Lisa Johnson Aug 02 '16 at 07:24

1 Answers1

0

It's true that reinstalling Linux will be your best option. As you are a new guest user, you likely don't have much useful information or any files worth keeping, and even if you do, you can back those up to any cloud storage (Sync, Dropbox, et al), a USB flash drive, or SD card, amount other things. You could even plug your cell phone into the USB slot and copy stuff over to there.

That being said, to create a bootable Ubuntu medium is pretty easy. There is a wealth of information here and abroad for how to do that; A pretty easy way is to use unetbootin but you would need the admin password to install any new apps. You could potentially dd an ISO file to a USB stick, but that can really do harm if any type errors are made.

Not to make assumptions about your level of competence regarding those things, they are viable options. This link
https://linuxconfig.org/recover-reset-forgotten-linux-root-password
as well as many threads on this site offer methods for resetting the root password, which is actually very easy. If you have another computer, though, I would suggest burning a CD or making a bootable USB stick and installing that way. You can even burn "Live" images, so that you can try different varieties before committing to one.

If you insist on resetting the root password, you need to drop into a shell at boot and do some things there... I won't expand just yet although I do know the question is how can you reset the root password.

Good luck, and follow up with us with the direction you intend to go.

Cheers!

P Smith
  • 569