I seem to have forgotten my user password. I have inittab set to runlevel 4, with me as an automatic, passwordless login. I was in init 3 doing an upgrade when the kernel modules package refused to upgrade due to a bad md5sum. No big deal, I just tried to restart X to go and manually get the package to upgrade.

I flat out couldn't remember my password. I had to startx as root and get the package manually. Can root just give my user (me) another password? I'm being hesitant because I just did a total reinstall of Slackware-current about two months ago. It had been 5 years or so since a clean install.

I think I could just type in Konsole as root:

passwd michael

and give a new password?

Yep!

1 members found this post helpful.

Yes, root can adjust passwords for any users (one of the privileges or being root). You can do it like you expected, simply:

Replacing USERNAME with your actual username. It will require you to type the new password twice to verify it is set properly.

Don't forget to adjust the password for kdm to allow you to log in passwordless again.

1 members found this post helpful.

Thanks guys! All is well with the world - except perhaps my memory......

"Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most."

4 members found this post helpful.