Lost Root Password - reset instructions bring me to Login

[fzilz]

I have unfortunately lost my root password and as my virtual center server is a vm on my host and my VM's are not avaialble I need to login as root. I found several articles on how to reset the password, but none of them work for me.

1. I tried, rebooting server (hard reset), at boot menu, typed "a" and then at prompt typed space "single". after an extended period (looks like normal boot up) I end up at the windows to type alt f1 to login to console and alt-f11 to come back to this screen. if I type alt-f1 I am at the login prompt.

2. I tried, choosing the troubleshooting option, which according to a couple posts I found googling should take me to a prompt, where I can type "single" and end up at a prompt where I can type passwrd, but no, I end up at a login prompt again.

what am I doing wrong, or is there a better reset password instruction set.

ESX 3.5 update 2.

[weinstein5]

What you describe is the way to change the password - at boot menu type a then type single - here is alink tot he steps wth pictures -

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[fzilz]

yes, but that is the problem, when I follow the instructions, I don't end up at a prompt, I end up at a request for login, and as i don't know the root password, i can get past it. I should be ending up at a prompt, where I can change the password. I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. The instructions are very clear and very straight forward.

Typing the "a" does give me a prompt where I can type 'single' , but then it goes through all of its checks (which are all "ok") and then ends at the same screen I would get to if I had just allowed it to boot normally (use a web browser to connect using http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx; or type alt-f1 to go to console and alt-fll to come back to this screen" but if I type alt-f1 I am at a login request.

[fzilz]

I was able to reset the root password.

hard reboot, at menu select service console only type "a" then at command line I deleted all of the letters following the mem = xxxM so that the line was GUID mem=xxxM single

Don't know what command options the letters were designating or why they were present on my command line, but this allowed me to boot to a bash prompt, enter passwd and reset my root.

Hope this helps someone else in the future. Thanks for the assistance.

[TomHowarth]

Thank you for sharing, this is what makes this communitity one of the best around

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Tom Howarth

VMware Communities User Moderator