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Asked: 2024-09-23T15:06:28+05:30 In:

What steps should I follow to recover a forgotten administrative password in Ubuntu?

I really need some help here! So, I’ve been using Ubuntu for a while now, and I thought I had everything sorted—until I realized that I completely forgot my administrative password. I know, super embarrassing, right? I was working on a project and needed to install some software, but bam! I hit a wall when it asked for the password, and my mind went blank.

I tried a bunch of things—like guessing variations of what I thought it might be—but no luck. I looked up some tips online, but it all seemed a bit overwhelming, and I didn’t want to mess anything up. I’ve heard that there are different ways to recover the password in Ubuntu, but honestly, I’m not the best with command line stuff, and I really don’t want to brick my system or lose any files in the process.

Do any of you have a simple step-by-step guide or personal experience you can share on how to recover a forgotten administrative password without making everything go haywire? I remember something about booting into recovery mode, but I’m a bit scared I’ll mess it up. Do I need to back anything up beforehand, or will I be okay as long as I’m careful?

Also, what do I do once I’m in recovery mode? Do I need to open a terminal or something? And am I supposed to reset it right there, or is there something else I should be aware of?

I know I’m probably overthinking it, but I really don’t want to screw things up. If anyone can share some wisdom or their experience, I’d really appreciate it. Maybe just a simple walkthrough? I can’t believe I let myself get into this situation! Thanks in advance for any help!

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    2 Answers



    1. Recovering Ubuntu Admin Password

      Recovering Your Ubuntu Admin Password

      Hey there! No worries, forgetting a password happens to the best of us. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to help you reset your Ubuntu admin password without any headaches.

      Booting into Recovery Mode

      1. Restart your computer. While it’s booting up, hold down the Shift key. This should take you to the GRUB menu.
      2. Once you see the GRUB menu, use the arrow keys to select the entry that says something like “Advanced options for Ubuntu.”
      3. Then, look for the line that includes “recovery mode” and select it.

      Accessing the Root Shell

      1. After it loads, you’ll see a recovery menu. Select the option that says “Drop to root shell prompt.”

      Remounting the Filesystem

      Now, your filesystem is in read-only mode, so we gotta change that:

      1. Type the following command and hit Enter: 
        2. mount -o remount,rw /

      Resetting Your Password

      1. Now, type this command, replacing yourusername with your actual username:
        2. passwd yourusername
      2. It will ask you for a new password. Type it in (you won’t see it on the screen) and press Enter. Then, type it again for confirmation.

      Exiting Recovery Mode

      1. Finally, type 
        exit

        and select the “resume” option (or just reboot). Your system should restart normally.

      Tips Before You Start

      • Back up your important files if you can, just to be safe!
      • Take your time during each step. If you feel stuck, take a breather before proceeding.

      That’s pretty much it! You’ll have a fresh admin password in no time. Good luck, and don’t panic; you can totally do this!



    2. To recover your forgotten administrative password in Ubuntu, you can use recovery mode, which allows you to reset your password with relative ease. First, restart your computer and hold down the Shift key right after the BIOS screen goes away; this should bring up the GRUB menu. Once you’re in the GRUB menu, select the option for recovery mode (it usually contains the word “recovery”) using the arrow keys and press Enter. This will take you to a menu where you can choose “root” – which will give you a command line interface with superuser privileges. At this point, you don’t need to worry about backing anything up because you will not be making changes to your files, just updating your password.

      Once you’re at the root command prompt, you’ll need to remount your file system as read/write by entering the command mount -o remount,rw /. After that, you can reset your password with passwd username, replacing username with your actual Ubuntu username. You’ll be prompted to enter a new password; type it in and hit Enter. You should also confirm the new password when prompted. After successfully resetting your password, simply type exit or reboot to restart your system. This process is generally safe as long as you follow the steps carefully, and you should be able to access your Ubuntu system with the new password without any issues.


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