Hi All,

I have an old Pentium PC that someone gave me and I want to format and install Redhat as a e-mail/surfing box for a friend of mine. Problem is that an older version of RH is already installed (6 I think). Looks like command line only. What I want to do is format and put a clean install on. So the question is with out having a bootable CD Rom drive and without having the password for Root for the version currently installed how do I format? Would a boot disk do the trick? Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Cheers guys,

-=DpG=-

Use something like Tom's Root and Boot floppy, boot into Linux, do fdisk and mkfs to your heart's content.

Or, command

passwd

and reset the password to one you know.

but you can't change the root password without logging in as root can you? seems like that would be a pretty serious security flaw...

If someone has physical access to your box besides you, consider it insecure.

Security is a state of mind, not an OS.

Well yes, in most cases this is a security flaw but you have to have physical access, which in most cases most poeple don't have. Just like any OS and physical access, anyone should be able to boot into a system to reset, in cases like this where no one remembers the password or loses it, etc.

so you can use that command with being logged in at all?

What? I'm confused on what your trying to imply or ask?

If your asking if you can run that command without being logged in, when you boot to a single user mode or gain access to the system without logging in, you have access like you were root all along. There are no restrictions to the system, if that is what your asking.

linux rescue, linux single, any "live cd" or boot floppy will allow access.

# I hosed my box
LILO fails: Error messages and their interpretation
LILO mini HOWTO
Multiboot with LILO HOWTO
LILO, Linux Crash Rescue HOW-TO
Installing a bootloader
Multiboot with GRUB Mini-HOWTO
Linux+Win9x+Grub HOWTO
KNOPPIX Linux Live CD
Linux Bootable Business Card
Tom's Root and Boot floppy

i guess what i'm asking is how you can gain access to the system without knowing the password in the first place. even in single user mode i thought you had to login...

Well, they've worked ways around this now. Once upon a time when booting into single user mode, you were never asked a password. Now most distros have created it to ask for a password to gain access. The other ways around this now, well, some of the other examples fancypiper has given.....