====== Help! I forget my Log in password! ====== This question has been asked in the forum many many times, and I think it deserves going into the wiki. It may occur simply because some one has changed his password and forget to write it down, or you have purchased a second hand Eeepc, or you have changed the keyboard layout and so the Eeepc do not accept your old password. Anyway, here is a summary of suggested solutions offered by different forum members: ===== 1) Restore Factory Settings ===== This is the easiest way. Just [[explain:f9_restore|press at boot up]] when you see the Asus splash screen, then select **Restore Factory Settings** from the boot menu. This will format **sda2**, the USER partition of your system, including all customisations and software updates you have done. On the 701 models, it will also wipe out your **/home** folder including **My Documents**. So not really a solution. :-( {{explain:grub.png|Restore Factory Settings}} ===== 2) Run the First Run Wizard again ===== To do this, you need to delete a hidden file called **.firstrundone** in the folder **/home/user/**. To be exact, this folder is in the 2nd partition of the SSD (**sda2**) for the 701 models and in the 2nd SSD (**sdb1**) for the 900 and 1000H models. So, if you can still boot up your Eeepc, e.g. if you have config "**Log me in automatically when system start up**", then you just open **File Manager**, navigate to "**My Home**" (/home/user). From the menu, select **View** > **Show hidden files**. Select this file and delete it. Then next time when you boot up your Eeepc, it will run the first run wizard and show the license agreement, keyboard, user name, and ask you to enter your password, etc. ------ \\ If you cannot log in your Eeepc now, then you have to do this in [[howto:installrescuemode|rescue mode]]. For the 701 model users, you can enter these commands in [[howto:installrescuemode|rescue mode]]: mount /dev/sda2 /mnt-user rm /mnt-user/home/user/.firstrundone This will delete the file and after that, you should **umount** the drive, __wait at least 5 sec__ and reboot pressing [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Del]. umount -a If however you have a 900 or 1000H model, as there is no /dev/sdb1 in rescue mode, you will need to **mknod** to create **/dev/sdb1** with this command before you can mount the **/home** folder (**sdb1**) to delete **.firstrundone**. mknod -m 644 /dev/sdb1 b 8 17 ===== 3) Change password procedure ===== Some background information first: In a standard Linux system, passwords are stored in the file **/etc/passwd**. If encoded, it will refer to another file **/etc/shadow**. Usually, simply deleting these files or edit them to make the root password field empty will do the trick. But in the Eeepc, the logon screen of the Simple desktop do not accept empty password. That is why this trick won't work in the Eeepc. To change password, you can enter either of these commands in a [[explain:terminal|terminal]]: sudo passwd root sudo passwd user //[NB. the **root** user and the ordinary **user** share the same password in the Eeepc.]// ------ \\ If you cannot login your Eeepc now, then again you have to do it in [[howto:installrescuemode|rescue mode]]. The steps are as follows: - Boot into [[howto:installrescuemode|rescue mode]] - Set up the **chroot** working environment as per this wiki instruction: [[howto:hacking_in_rescue_mode#chroot_to_sda1|chroot to sda1]] - Change your password, and - Copy the new **/etc/shadow** file back into **sda2**, as per instructions here: [[howto:hacking_in_rescue_mode#changing_your_password|Changing your password]]. sh-3.1#passwd Enter new UNIX password: Retype new UNIX password: passwd: password updated successfully ------ \\ I never use the Advanced Desktop, so I am not sure what is the difference logging in with **kdm**. So I will leave this open to other forum users to update. See also: http://eeepc.technoburger.net/password-recovery [[http://www.portabilite.info|rio b and you]] [[http://www.obtenir-rio.info|sfr]]