I bought a linux mint usb to try and get into a laptop which is not working. the scr is part of the problem, it flickers really bad, so seeing instructions is not easily possible. I have been trying this for a cple months, on and off. somehow it got installed, but when I turn the machine on it comes up with a login screen. I never set it up, don't have a password, etc.
It is linux, mint, and it got installed on my hard drive at some point.
there is no option to change, or for a forgotten pswd, user, etc...???
any suggestion on this? apparently it would give me access to my files, maybe windows was a good part of my trouble (win 7 up to 10- clean install) although I know my hd has errors, may be physical.
Help!
my other machine is an all in one with win 10 (i think it was originally an upgrade)

The best way to get around the password problem is to boot from a cdrom, either your installation disc or a specialised SystemRescue disc. This will give you a live system with tools for fixing the situation.

You will need to have your hard drive mounted on some suitable mount point so that you can access the files. It might get mounted automatically or it might not, depending on what kind of disc you are using. Someone here can guide you through the process of finding out.

Once the disc is mounted, you can edit the system configuration files to get rid of the unknown password.

Mint, like Ubuntu, gives the first registered user full administrative rights. Looking at /etc/passwd and /etc/sudoers will tell you the name of this user. You can then edit out the user's password in /etc/shadow, reboot and log in without a password. Of course you will need to set a new one immediately!

You may find other things wrong with your installation but most problems in Linux can be fixed with a little patience.

Thank you .. but I am trying to install on 'a computer with problems', as a way to get to my older files. I am thinking linux may get rid of some of the problems, so far what I have seen is encouraging. Is there an older version of linux, without the box, that I can install and then upgrade if it works? I need a way of changing my laptop display to a 2nd display and I am able to find it.
I started this by buying an inexpensive version of a usb dr to help me fix the bootup and install or use linux mint. I can actually get it to boot, my windows is dead otherwise, but I cannot find the location of where I can change the display or add a 2nd, etc. my display 'jumps' with various horizontal lines, and I am not able to read it at all sometimes, but I noticed when I left it sit, with linux sign on box, it stopped, though the horizontal lines (like when you have several of the same screen open) were still there in lesser #'s. Then after I tried to enter a login - tried linux, and every other pw I could remember using, it started back up jumping.
I thought an old version, really bare bones, could get me into the system.
unless there is something on the usb or cd i can edit it is a lost cause.

sometimes, when a laptop screen flickers, it can have to do with the hinges and the cables therein, so wiggling the screen might improve things a little.

apart from that:
- attach an external screen
- remove the hard drive and put it into another computer, or usb enclosure

sure you can get your data back.

What you are describing sounds like a graphics driver problem. You may need to install a proprietary driver. Until you have done that, you will have to work at the command line. You can do that with SystemRescue, which is basically a very simple Linux, just what you say you want. Most people use SystemRescue in graphical mode but you don't need to. Once the password problem is fixed, you can boot from the hard drive, press ctrl+alt+F1 to get a text console and log into Mint from there.

Could you please tell us what graphics card you are using and someone else can probably tell you how to fix the display problem. I think adding a second display might be something as simple as plugging a monitor into your vga port.

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Thank you so much!

The machine is an HP Probook 4720s; ATI radeon prem graphics, core i3, original- window 7, then upgraded, eventually a clean install to win 10.
I have an hdmi cable going to my tv but it will not project, I know I had to set the display in win 10 previously, so I thought this would be the same. It is also not seeing the ethernet cable. I must have gotten rid of all my vga cables.. can't find any. do you think that would be diff than the hdmi (having to set system for 2nd display)?

I had been told that my problem is my graphics card, then system board since it is integrated in a laptop.
What blew this out of the water (at least partially) is that when I let it sit with that linux screen, it stops jumping altogether.. I had left it with the menu screen up and was able to actually look at an item before it resumed jumping.