How To: Recover the Linux root password

[daniel]

Orginal Link https://www.suse.com/support/kb/doc/?id=000015925 but still valid for latest versions

Situation
Lost or forgot the root password on Linux server

Resolution

Boot server from the installation CD.
Then select any installation method or Rescue System.
At the first installation screen when selecting language, press ctrl-alt-f2 to open a virtual console.
Note: If you selected Rescue System, select your keyboard language and then a Rescue Login prompt should appear. Login as root.
Type

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fdisk -l

to list the partitions. Locate the Linux root partition.
Type

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mount /dev/sda4 /mnt

(replace sda4 with the device name for the Linux root partition identified in the previous step).
Run

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mount -o bind /dev /mnt/dev

to make the device files available (this is needed for access to the urandom device which may be used by the passwd command below).
Enter

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chroot /mnt

Now enter

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passwd root

and reset the root password.
Type

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exit

to leave the chroot environment.
Reboot the system.