Hi,

I know everyone's run into the problem of forgetting the root password and not being able to log in.

I learned this little trick in school but I'd like to know if this works with all Linux distros. As of this moment I've tested it with Suse 9.1 Professional and Fedora Core 3 using both LILO and GRUB.

To gain root access, at the boot screen you have to type the following as the boot option:
init=/bin/bash

Linux should then give you a command prompt. Next type
mount -o rw,remount / to remount the root filesystem read-write. Then you can run passwd to change the root password. Once that is done type
mount -o ro,remount / and then hit CTL+ALT+DEL to reboot the system. You should then be able to login using the new password.

It will work, provided that no authentication has been set up in the bootloader for people who try to change kernel params. GRUB and (I believe) LILO support adding a password that a user must enter before being able to change the kernel command line.

it may be easier to bypass the bootloader password by just using a knoppix cd to access the hard drives
then mounting the partition that contains /etc/passwd
then issuing the passwd command to your new password?

Is setting a password on the bootloader a common practice?

no

if you want someone to use your pc locally you would give them an account aka userid
giving them a bootloader password does not help them......it may scare off some intruders but if that is your aim consider a bios password.

Unless you put a lock around your case so keyboards can not removed power switches touched etc i don't see how much paranoria you need.....

btw a bios passwd can be bypassed......remove bat
a bootloader passwd can be bypassed.....knoppix
a login passwd can be be bypassed......knoppix

if your system is not fully encrypted......mine isn't and i don't see the point.