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Forgetting your root password in Linux can be frustrating, but you don’t need to reinstall the entire system! Instead, you can use one of the two methods below to reset your root password easily.

📌 In this guide, you’ll learn:
✅ How to reset the root password using Rescue Mode
✅ How to reset the root password using Single-User Mode
✅ Best practices to avoid losing root access in the future

🛑 1. Why Would You Need to Reset the Root Password?

There are several scenarios where you might need to reset your Linux root password:

• 🔹 Forgot the root password – You are locked out of the system.
• 🔹 Inherited a system but don’t know the root password – Need access to perform administrative tasks.
• 🔹 Security incident or compromised password – A reset is necessary to regain control.

In such cases, you don’t need to reinstall Linux! Instead, you can reset the root password using Rescue Mode or Single-User Mode.

🔄 2. Method 1: Reset Root Password via Rescue Mode

Rescue Mode allows you to boot into a recovery environment and make changes to the system.

🔹 Step 1: Boot into Rescue Mode

1️⃣ Restart the system and enter BIOS/UEFI settings (usually by pressing F2, F12, or DEL during boot).
2️⃣ Change the boot order so that CD-ROM or USB Drive is the first boot device.
3️⃣ Insert a Linux installation or rescue disk and boot from it.

🔹 Step 2: Load the System and Enter the Chroot Environment

1️⃣ Once in the rescue environment, select "Rescue Installed System" (varies by Linux distro).
2️⃣ Mount the system image manually:

chroot /mnt/sysimage

📌 This places you inside your installed system as the root user.

🔹 Step 3: Reset the Root Password

Run:

passwd root

📌 Enter and confirm the new root password.

🔹 Step 4: Exit and Reboot

1️⃣ Exit the chroot environment:

exit

2️⃣ Restart the system:

reboot

📌 Important: Before booting back into the system, go into BIOS and set Hard Drive as the first boot device.

✅ Success! You can now log in with your new root password.

🔄 3. Method 2: Reset Root Password via Single-User Mode

If you don’t have a rescue disk, you can reset the root password using Single-User Mode.

🔹 Step 1: Access the GRUB Menu

1️⃣ Restart the system.
2️⃣ When the GRUB boot menu appears, use the arrow keys to select your current Linux system.
3️⃣ Press "e" to edit the boot entry.

🔹 Step 2: Modify Kernel Parameters

1️⃣ Locate the line that starts with linux or kernel, for example:

linux /boot/vmlinuz-4.18.0-305.el8.x86_64 ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet

2️⃣ At the end of this line, add the following:

single

📌 The updated line should look something like:

linux /boot/vmlinuz-4.18.0-305.el8.x86_64 ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet single

3️⃣ Press Enter to save the changes.

🔹 Step 3: Boot into Single-User Mode

1️⃣ Press Ctrl + X or b to boot with the modified settings.
2️⃣ The system will now boot into Single-User Mode, providing you with a root shell (sh-4.2#).

🔹 Step 4: Reset the Root Password

1️⃣ Run the following command:

passwd root

2️⃣ Enter and confirm the new root password.

🔹 Step 5: Reboot the System

1️⃣ Restart the system with:

reboot

📌 The system will boot normally, and you can now log in with your new root password.

✅ Success! You have successfully reset your root password using Single-User Mode.

🛡️ 4. Preventing Future Root Password Issues

To avoid getting locked out again, follow these best practices:

✅ Create a secondary user with sudo privileges

useradd -m -G wheel adminuser
passwd adminuser

📌 This allows you to recover access without needing Rescue Mode.

✅ Enable SSH Key Authentication Use key-based authentication to avoid relying on passwords:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096

Copy the public key to your server:

ssh-copy-id user@server-ip

✅ Keep a recovery disk handy Always have a Live CD or USB drive available for emergencies.

✅ Use password managers Store your root password securely in a password manager like Bitwarden, LastPass, or KeePass.

📊 5. Summary

💬 Join the Discussion!

Have you ever forgotten your Linux root password?
Which method did you use to recover it?

💬 Share your experience in the comments below! 🚀

👉 If you're troubleshooting Linux filesystem errors, check out: How to Fix the "Read-only File System" Error in Linux