What to Do If You Forgot the Root Password

If you forget the root password and you cannot log into the system, you will have to do the following:

• Stop the system by using the keyboard stop sequence.

• Boot the system the installation media.

• Mount the root (/) file system.

• Remove the root password from the /etc/shadow file.

• Reboot the system.

• Log in and set root's password.

These procedures are fully described in Chapter 7, Booting an Oracle Solaris System (Tasks), in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.

The following examples describe how to recover from a forgotten root password on a SPARC based systems or an x86 based system that does not implement GRUB.

Example 9-1 SPARC: What to Do If You Forgot the Root Password

The following example shows how to recover when you forget the root password by booting from the network. This example assumes that the boot server is already available. Be sure to apply a new root password after the system has rebooted.

(Use keyboard abort sequence--Press Stop A keys to stop the system)
ok boot net -s
# mount /dev/dsk/c0t3d0s0 /a
# cd /a/etc
# TERM=vt100
# export TERM
# vi shadow
(Remove root's encrypted password string)
# cd /
# umount /a
# init 6