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To: "none none" <pridesites@hotmail.com>
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From: Lowell Gilbert <freebsd-questions-local@be-well.no-ip.com>
Date: 21 Apr 2003 11:48:17 -0400
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Subject: Re: Password reset question
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"none none" <pridesites@hotmail.com> writes:

> I had a server which I haven't used in about a year, with data on it
> that I'd like to access.  Unforunately I forgot the root password.
> I've tried the "boot -s" option but once it finishes booting it
> displays "enter root password or ^D for multiuser access". (Not
> bypassing the root password...  I have physical access to the
> machine. How can I reset or recover the password?

You can't recover it.  To reset it, you just have to boot FreeBSD some
other way (floppy or CD are probably the best options), mount the root
partition, and make your changes.  Remember that the directory path
won't be the same as usual, so you'll need to use the -d option to
either vipw or pwd_mkdb.