You are almost there....

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slow down and pay attention to what you're doing.

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if you got an old laptop with an old Linux OS on it. I'd just blast it out of there and install a fresh copy of whatever I wanted to run on it. That way it is your install and you'll have a better Idea of the important stuff that is on it like your password to get into it and do admin stuff to it.

That is what I'd do. some people shy away from the just re-install the system. Instead, they spend hours to days on it trying to figure out how to get it to 'work'. When a fresh install would have solved their Linux problems in 30 minutes or less. (in most cases because all things Linux are relevant to ones aptitude)

Okay. I think I will re-install a new copy. It will still be Linux Mint though. About the computer knowledge here it is:

I have three laptops:

Some ancient Dell Inspiron that somehow still works

Dell Insprion 1300

Dell Inspiron 5558

I know a moderate amount of information about computers but I get lost in super technical information.

My goal for the Dell Inspiron 1300 is to have it be a useful companion to my other Windows laptop.

Can we give a few minutes more to trying to finish the password here?
Oh, on the wifi, can you type (instead of passwd <name>)
lspci
at that #
(or a few other basic Unix commands... see BW's login link, to a great book!)
http://www.osdata.com/programming/sh...ellbasics.html
df /
is a good one You'll run into "open a terminal & run this cmd..." a 'lot'

OR, you can put this Thread 'to sleep' by marking it as '[SOLVED]' (going to new-install)
by the ThreadTools, near the top of the page.

p.s. Separately, in either case, IF you feel like spending a few minutes to 'test out' an idea I had about 'debugging/info commands',
click this; ctrl+F (find) lspci
Look around for a few seconds: can you see what command gives usb info?
(a few lines later, or find -as a 'whole word'-) do you see what `df` relates to?
I added the suggestion to: web-search: man df (where I posted this idea here).
I'm asking because I'm wondering whether my 'idea' might 'work' / be usable...

Thanks! Best wishes (in the 'rough waters' of Linux)

no no no.
please go back to the last post on page #4.
if that doesn't help you can reinstall.

I tried JeremyBoden's advice with the sumo command but no avail. I will try the ispci now.

edit: it did not work. I will go ahead with reinstall.

roadgeek001,

As I mentioned in post #41, with your old low-spec laptop, it is advisable to install a lightweight Linux distribution such as antiX-16, not Linux Mint.

I've never tried a sumo command. I think you must suffer from fat-fingered syndrome!

OH! God, I need my eyes checked...

Edit: I did try both sumo and sudo and there is no sign that the computer is responding to my new password typing.

Edit: I did not realize that security in Linux completely ides the new password. I thought it used asterisks or dots and that they were not showing up. My complete apologies!

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Being a GUI-only kid, I sympathize! I love reading LQ but my social skills get me the opposite of the nice help you received
I found a way here to do some of what you were trying but it blew up when I tried the remount, maybe because it's just a web page, not a real disk.
This was a chance for me to learn a few commands, like I saw in pre-Win3.1 DOS, so your struggle was not wasted.
I enjoy LQ sudo way more than CL/FB.com sumo Speech input makes up for my lack of keyboard and mouse, except copy&paste, and no Ctrl key etc.

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