When using the password reset on a cobalt xtr it does reset the admin password. I enter in the password and all is well for admin.

When trying to login as SU / root it refuses the password.

Question: how does one reset the root password?? The system is in need of some configuration and is basically useless at this time until I can log in as root and fix the problem. Of course I could re-install but then how would one go about doing this without a boot disk or CDRom or being logged in as root??

Well if the Cobalt allows you to boot it into single user mode then you could reset the root password. If it uses LILO then at the boot prompt try "linux single" without the quotes.

Thanks JTY. I am new to the cobalts but ...

a.) it is remote
b.) i would have to hook up a seriel terminal to it just to see if I could do this.

What I currently have if I am with the machine is the LED control panel. and then the normal admin account that is set up and reset by the control panel.

You would assume this being the override and that these machines are set up to be admined by the control panel / the web interface / and the shell prompt there would be somewhere these types of problems can be dealt with.

If I get a terminal connection to it I am not sure if it acts like a normal linux machine and would give me the ability to go into single user mode. If this is an option and someone has tried it please let me know.

I'm not familiar with the xtrs, however I can tell you that with other RaQs you have to explicitly call root in your passwd command.

So, you log in to the server as admin, and type the following:

su
[root passwd]

passwd root
[newrootpasswd]

That should work.

If you have reset the password for 'admin' via the LCD, you need to then set it again in the GUI. When you set the 'admin' password in the GUI, it simultaneously sets the 'root' password to the same thing.

You should only use the command-line password change for 'root' if you specifically want 'admin' and 'root' to have different passwords (not a bad idea, really)...

Allways use a different root password!

Trust me on that ;-)