LinuxQuestions.org
Share your knowledge at the LQ Wiki.
Home Forums Tutorials Articles Register
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie
User Name
Password
Linux - Newbie This Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question? If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 08-17-2020, 11:31 AM   #1
gm1925mint
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Jan 2020
Location: Montreal Quebec Canada
Distribution: Linux mint 19.3
Posts: 7

Rep: Reputation: Disabled
I've forgotten the password to login to Linux mint 19.3 cinnamon.


I am unable to unlock disk sda3_crypt as I have forgotten the password. Is there a way that I can unlock the Acer Gateway ZX4451 64-bit desktop that I was using before. Thank you.
 
Old 08-17-2020, 11:35 AM   #2
pan64
LQ Addict
 
Registered: Mar 2012
Location: Hungary
Distribution: debian/ubuntu/suse ...
Posts: 21,967

Rep: Reputation: 7333Reputation: 7333Reputation: 7333Reputation: 7333Reputation: 7333Reputation: 7333Reputation: 7333Reputation: 7333Reputation: 7333Reputation: 7333Reputation: 7333
is this a password to a user account or to a disk encryption.
User's password usually can be reset, but I think there is no way to recover an encrypted disk without knowing the password.
 
Old 08-17-2020, 11:52 AM   #3
sgosnell
Senior Member
 
Registered: Jan 2008
Location: Baja Oklahoma
Distribution: Debian Stable and Unstable
Posts: 1,943

Rep: Reputation: 542Reputation: 542Reputation: 542Reputation: 542Reputation: 542Reputation: 542
I don't know of a way to unlock an encrypted disk without the password. If the disk is not encrypted, it's possible to reset the user password using this method: https://www.linux-magazine.com/Onlin...SystemRescueCd but if the disk is encrypted, and it appears to be from the original post, I have no solution.

Last edited by sgosnell; 08-17-2020 at 11:56 AM.
 
Old 08-17-2020, 01:10 PM   #4
sgosnell
Senior Member
 
Registered: Jan 2008
Location: Baja Oklahoma
Distribution: Debian Stable and Unstable
Posts: 1,943

Rep: Reputation: 542Reputation: 542Reputation: 542Reputation: 542Reputation: 542Reputation: 542
To be more verbose, the point of disk encryption is to insure that no one can access the data on the disk without the password. If there were a way to do that, the encryption method would be useless. One needs to weigh the benefits and downsides of encrypting a disk before doing it. If you do want encryption, you need to put the password somewhere it is safe, but from which you can reliably retrieve it. I use a password safe, and I also encrypt some data using gnupg. Some people write it down on paper and keep it in a place they consider safe. Whatever works for you, but all have some downsides. Paper can be found by others, be accidentally destroyed by fire, flood, the pet dog, or any number of other things. With a password safe or encrypted file, you have to remember the password to that. I can remember strings of characters that I use a lot, but it's harder for those I seldom use. I use my password safe almost every day, sometimes many times a day, so I have no fear of forgetting it. It's long, and I don't worry about a dictionary attack breaking it even if someone with a supercomputer decided to spend a few years trying to break it. But the root password for every computer is not something I would trust myself to remember, so those go into the password safe. I use keepassxc, which I run on my desktop, my phone, my chromebook, and will run on Windows if I become truly desperate. The database is stored on Dropbox and on Google Drive, so I don't fear losing it. If someone can access the database, and crack it without the password, then they have everything, but I don't spend time worrying about that. Encryption works. So the only suggestion I have for your presumably encrypted disk is to reformat it and make better plans about keeping up with the password.
 
  


Reply



Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
LXer: Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon – Using Cinnamon Desktop 4.4 and Powered by Linux Kernel 5.0 LXer Syndicated Linux News 0 01-30-2020 09:33 PM
Unable to launch "cinnamon-session-cinnamon" X session "cinnamon-session-cinnamon" -found; Falling back to default "session." xxxindigo Linux Mint 22 09-01-2019 09:21 AM
Mint 19 --forgotten user password reset failed. 1bSpanMan Linux - Newbie 1 05-17-2019 10:42 PM
[SOLVED] Linux Mint 17 (Cinnamon) versus Linux Mint 17-1 (Cinnamon) Tikiman Linux - General 2 05-15-2015 02:54 PM
Forgotten Login Password Ubuntu 4.10 mookie2125 Ubuntu 5 07-11-2006 03:18 AM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:22 PM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration