Angelo Bertolli wrote: > Evan Storer wrote: > >> Helpful folks, >> I just got a computer from work that was used by someone a few years >> ago which runs Debian, and I can't do anything with it since I don't >> know any usernames or passwords or anything. Is there some kind of >> override to get past the login screen so I can set up my own account? >> Any help would be great. >> It says I'm running "Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 ethel tty1" if that >> information is necessary. > > > ethel? > > Is it booting with GRUB or LILO? > You can send the kernel an argument for whatever init you want (e.g. > 1) by just appending it to the argument list. That will get you root > access as long as GRUB/LILO isn't password protected. If they are, > you can try booting from a Debian CD (or Knoppix) and change the > password for root. That will work if the BIOS isn't password > protected. Otherwise, you'll have to take the drive out, put it in > another computer, and reset the password by hand. > > For example, if you're using lilo, at the boot prompt, instead of typing "linux", type "linux init=/bin/bash". (This assumes there is no lilo password.) Now you should be able to edit /etc/passswd, removing the "X" on the "root" line. You'll first have to remount / as read/write probably: "mount -o remount,rw /dev/hda1 /" or similar. Save the file, reboot, and you should be able to log in as root with no password.
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