Username/Password Help

FindingWaldo763 · 12-14-2005, 08:05 PM

I have just had Linux RedHat installed onto my laptop and everything seems to be working out ok. When everything loads up and the "Username" and "Password" menu displays...well I was not given the option to give a name or password when the Program all started and the person that Installed the software did not ask...so is there anything that I can do from the start menu to change the name and password to something that I could remember and actually use RedHat? Thank You very much.

homey · 12-14-2005, 08:37 PM

At the grub boot menu, type e ( edit )
Go to the line which has kernel... in it, and type e ( edit )
Go to the end of the kernel line and type init 1 and press enter
Then, type b ( boot )

That will get you booted into runlevel 1 with no password needed.
From there, you can add a user and password.
For example:
useradd fred
passwd fred

Then, type init 5 and log in as the new user.

pixellany · 12-14-2005, 11:23 PM

Are you saying that this will get you into a secured computer without a password?

How should I protect myself from this---grub password?

For the OP: About this person who installed the SW: He/she should have given you the root login info. Can you ask? I don't know if Homey's solution will get you root privileges---you'll need this sooner or later.

chrism01 · 12-14-2005, 11:26 PM

Anytime you have direct access to the HW, you can get in somehow eg substitute a boot disk/CD and boot off that...
This is one reason that servers are locked away...
NB: this is true of other OS's as well....

manjiri · 12-15-2005, 05:46 AM

After the grub menu appears on the screen press 'b'. u will get to pass kernel parameters. you will have smething like init=/sbin/.....
type init 1 or linux 1 at the end of the stmt. you will get a access to your system in single mode.then type the cmds:

$passwd <- : you can change your password with this break into the system.

Mishra100 · 12-15-2005, 09:02 AM

When I installed Solaris, it didn't give me a username/password option. But there could have been a default set. root/password worked for me. It might be the same with this.

The root account is created by default so you know that username is right.

So try root, then try a blank password... Or just try the password "password". When you log in you can make users and/or change passwords.

But try what the guys are saying here anyways. You can probably learn something.

manjiri · 12-16-2005, 07:11 AM

redhat linux doesnot work with a blank password.

jamie_barrow · 12-18-2005, 07:15 PM

Are you guys saying its possible to change the root password without knowing it??? Or to create a user without logging on as root??? If so, its not too secure is it?