Re: Forgotten root passwd

Hey, Phil.

> I've managed to forget my root password as the unit has sat working for
> so long without any issues.  I have a CF card with the Mandrake install
> image and a hard disk that has Mandrake 9 installed on it.
>
> Can you use the CF image to boot into a recover mode to change/delete
> the root password ? If so how?  And if not any other ideas ?

   Hmm.  Well, there's a couple of things you could do.

   1) If you're not running shadow passwords, and thus /etc/passwd
contains all of the password salts, you could copy that file and use
another machine to crack the root password of your OpenBrick
   2) You could boot a Linux distro via the USB or IDE interface and moun=
t
the filesystem on the CF card, chroot into it, and change the root
password
   3) You could reload Linux onto your CF card
   4) You could do something really ugly, like find out the
vulnerabilities for your particular version of Mandrake on your
OpenBrick and see if you're running a vulnerable service, break into
it, and get root permissions through priviliage escallation.  [Not a
guaranteed solution, mostly an excercise for enjoyment rather than
elegance.]

   That's my thoughts, anyway.
   - Chris

Chris Knadle
[email protected]