Dev1 Galaxy Forum / Forgot login/sudo password

Re: Forgot login/sudo password

dummy@example.com (Tweedlewise) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:14:10 +0000

Thanks for the replies!

I'm still trying to sort out the mozilla bookmarks,
RedGreen925, I did find .mozilla directory in my saved /home directory, but the contents of the sub-directories confused me, I'll look into them further, THANKS!

Tweedle(not so?)wise

Re: Forgot login/sudo password

dummy@example.com (rolfie) — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:30:09 +0000

Duke Nukem wrote:

I didn't even know that Firefox could save passwords.

Every sort of main stream browser does that if configured to do so, but only for web pages.

I have some passwords saved in FF, but the relevant ones are not stored in FF but in a password manager I do use for many years now.

Re: Forgot login/sudo password

dummy@example.com (Duke Nukem) — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 13:07:37 +0000

I didn't even know that Firefox could save passwords. I wouldn't trust it to. I recommend in future saving them in an encrypted file with a copy in several places, including a pen drive.

Re: Forgot login/sudo password

dummy@example.com (Micronaut) — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 12:53:57 +0000

Couldn't you just boot with an installer / live disk, change to the HD root directory with chroot, and then reset the password?

Re: Forgot login/sudo password

dummy@example.com (RedGreen925) — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 01:47:19 +0000

I had no idea where Firefox ESR saved my passwords or bookmarks, or where my personalized dictionary was located.

For an older install it would have stored all of that in the .mozilla directory in your /home/username directory, for a new fresh install using the latest versions that have changed to XDG desktop specification it is in the .config/mozilla directory now.

Edit: All may not yet be lost if you have created a Firefox account on old install you should be able to login and sync it to get most of you old stuff back like the bookmarks, extentions, passwords.

Re: Forgot login/sudo password

dummy@example.com (Tweedlewise) — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 01:14:32 +0000

Thanks for the replies!
But I hit a snag in attempting to recover the old data.
I had no idea where Firefox ESR saved my passwords or bookmarks, or where my personalized dictionary was located.
So when I booted with the Excalibur ISO, it took me right into Install and not Live-CD and I just went with it...
So, now I'm here with Excalibur 6.1.0 and an important part of my former system gone.
I still have a separate password file, but it doesn't have all those that Firefox saved, and I have an older (2 years?) set of bookmarks I can pull off another machine.

Any way, How do I get a larger font on the windowing for my ancient eyes?
I don't mean just within LibreOffice, (I know how to do that) but everywhere.

>#2 sudo says I'm not on the sudoers list!
>I'm the only one on the machine!
>How can I get that rectified?

[edit]
Nevermind! #2 I found the answer on
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/478 … e-reported

Tweedlewise

Re: Forgot login/sudo password

dummy@example.com (Camtaf) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:23:36 +0000

Yep, definitely back up your /home directory - then you can either attempt to regain access via single user/root account, or reinstall & replace your files to the new /home directory.

Re: Forgot login/sudo password

dummy@example.com (Mercury) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:18:28 +0000

Do you actually need to know the original password, or do you just want to reset it so the account is usable again? The latter is definitely possible, and a websearch should have given you an answer already. Here's the top result I got:
https://serverfault.com/questions/11218 … -on-debian

When it happened to me, I removed the password altogether by directly modifying /etc/passwd, so it's a valid alternative approach:
https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/533599

Forgot login/sudo password

dummy@example.com (Tweedlewise) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:01:57 +0000

For a couple of months, I have suspended my PC instead doing a complete shutdown when I wasn't going to be using it for a while.
(while ~= overnight to a couple of days)
So, the other day, I wasn't getting sudo to work (it was rejecting the password(s) I entered), so I rebooted thinking it just needed a refresh.
So, imagine my surprise when after it booted, I wasn't able to login to my account! I've since tried many passwords and many attempts.
Feeling that all was lost, I was prepared to do a complete install of 5.0, until an acquaintance suggested booting with a LIve-CD.

I did and was able to copy my home directory to a "safe" disk.

I see that Devuan 6 is available.

How did I manage to forget my login/sudo pw?
I could blame it on the chemotherapy I'm undergoing (I have been in remission for over a year- thank you!)
as it does cause forgetfulness, or just that I'm getting old.

So, what advice can you offer me?
Is the PW gone, buh-bye, lost for good?

I've been thinking of doing a clean install after fumbling through my first attempt last year.
So, if the password is unrecoverable, I plan on installing 6.0, and let the Live-CD installer do most of the work.
(I think I need a complete scrub of the HDD anyway)

There are no other accounts on the PC.
What other directories/files should I also copy off the PC before reformatting?

Thank for any insight you can give me!

And before this, I was one of the guys who kept reminding others to make frequent backups...
Pass the crow, please...

Tweedlewise