Forgotten Password? Don't Wipe Your Linux Machine!

🔐 How to Reset a Linux Machine Password (Linux Mint) Using a Live USB

I forgot my machine’s password a few weeks ago, even though it was a practice environment with no essential resources on it, and I could have easily just reloaded the OS. But I decided to challenge myself and find a way to get back in - and I did. I also decided to document the process for any curious person or anyone who may need this.

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✅ What You’ll Need

• A bootable USB or DVD (same version as your installed system).

• A basic understanding of using the terminal.

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🖥️ Step-by-Step Guide

🔹 Step 1: Boot Into the Live Session

1. Insert the Linux Mint Live USB or DVD into your computer while it’s still switched off.

2. Switch on the machine and press the boot options key ( press F9 on hp)-I usually press repeatedly immediately the machine is on.

3. Select "Try Linux Mint" at the boot menu to enter the live environment.

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🔹 Step 2: Open the Terminal

Once the desktop loads, open the terminal at the bottom panel or press Ctrl + Alt + T to open a terminal window.

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🔹 Step 3: Identify Your Root Partition

Run the following command to list all partitions:

sudo fdisk -l

Look for your Linux system’s root partition. It will usually be something like /dev/sda2 and have a Linux filesystem as the type.

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🔹 Step 4: Mount the Root Partition

Replace /dev/sda2 with your actual root partition with:

sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

If /boot is on a separate partition (e.g., /dev/sda1), mount that as well with:

sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot

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🔹 Step 5: Bind System Directories

These commands prepare the chroot environment:

sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev

sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc

sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys

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🔹 Step 6: Chroot Into Your Installed System

Run:

sudo chroot /mnt

Now you’re operating inside your installed system, as if you had booted normally.

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🔹 Step 7: Reset the User Password

Now reset the password. Replace your-username with your actual username:

passwd your-username

Enter the new password twice when prompted.

Don’t know your username? You can check with:

ls /home

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🔹 Step 8: Exit and Reboot

Exit the chroot environment and unmount the partitions:

exit

sudo umount /mnt/dev

sudo umount /mnt/proc

sudo umount /mnt/sys

sudo umount /mnt

sudo reboot

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✅ You're Done!

After rebooting, remove the Live USB/DVD. Your system should boot normally, and you can log in with your new password.

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✅ Distributions Where This Works

The method works reliably on:

• Ubuntu and all its derivatives

• Debian

• Arch Linux and all of its derivatives.

• Fedora

• openSUSE

• Linux Mint (yeah, I know!)

• And even enterprise distros like Rocky Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)