eee pc ubuntu
 

How can I get to a command line without logging in?

Mark your login name and go to bottom and change your session from from Gnome/unity to xterm.

Thank you for replying, Andy...the major problem I am having right now with my notepad is I cannot remember my username or password :( Actually it's my 10 year old niece's computer. Ive tried to go into bios mode to change the settings there, but i can only find a way to change the user password...but no where can i find a way to change user name. I called tech support and they told me i would need to send it in, because it would have to be fixed going into bios.So, before i have to resort to spending more money and time, i was hoping to try to figure this problem out on my own. If you have any suggestions, please help!!

You won't find user passwords in the bios.

You can try the procedure in this link, but be careful. The only real way to do this is to log into the root account, which in a ubuntu-based distro isn't normally setup by default. The procedure illustrated at the link below works on Linux-Lite, which was based on ubuntu 12.04 and so may work for you.

read the instructions very carefully.

https://www.linuxdistrocommunity.com...d=8251#pid8251

Do you need to log in with the account or do you just want to save som files from the home directory etc?
If linux do you know the root password?

Log in as root and check the list with users in the prompt.

$ sudo cat /etc/password

or
# cat /etc/password

This will not give you the passwords just the usernames of users on the computer.
I can't tell you how to crack password its against the forum rules.

Welcome to the forums! Here are easy, illustrated instructions to reset a forgotten password in Ubuntu: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/resetpassword