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Date:      Thu, 18 Apr 2002 00:22:16 -0700 (PDT)
From:      Annelise Anderson <andrsn@andrsn.stanford.edu>
To:        Jesse Rock <jesse@accretive-networks.net>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: emergency password problem
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.4.10.10204180007270.14557-100000@andrsn.stanford.edu>
In-Reply-To: <20020417215138.W96969-100000@localhost>

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On Wed, 17 Apr 2002, Jesse Rock wrote:

> 
> Please alert me if there is a more appropriate list for
> this question.
> 
> I have a friend who called me up tonight in a panic with
> a problem that I do not have a solution for.
> Apperantly while in the process of changing passwords for
> both his primary user and root he was called away and when
> he returned to his dismay he no longer remembered the new
> password.
> 
> Too complicate matters he has set an option that requires
> the root password in order to single user the machine as well.

To quote Ted Mittelstaedt, "FreeBSD Corporate Networker's Guide,"
"never set the console to insecure.  If you do and you lose
the root password, you will have to reinstall FreeBSD."

But....you could pop another drive in there, put even a minimal
FreeBSD installation on it, and then mount the partitions on
the existing drives, and fix /etc/master.passwd.  The problem is
getting a password database; one way to do it would be to edit it,
(the version on the old installation), deleting the root password entry;
(but not the root account); copy it to the new /etc (after having backed
up the master.passwd on the new installation), and use vipw on the new
installation to get the password database rebuilt (with all the same
users but no password for root), copy all the relevant files over the
ones on the old installation....and reboot the old installation.

Think about those steps--I haven't actualy done this. 

	Annelise

P.S. With all these separate disks, any file system the new installation
doesn't destroy can be mounted on whatever mount point is chosen.
 
> My question is two part. First, what if any options are there
> to be able to salvage this machine. While it is not a production
> machine in the real sense it does have many users and hosts a
> number of domains. The only thing I could think of would be
> the fixit disk but as a novice admin myself I am not aware of
> its abilities nor how to invoke them (any documentation would
> be appreciated).
> 
> My second question deals with the possibility that nothing but
> a new install will cure the situation. To his credit he has
> everything on separate disks mounted as separate partitions.
> All of the files being served are on A disk that can be salvaged.
> If this machine is reinstalled, how do I add the other disk
> mounted as /usr/home to the new install and save the information?
> Would it be as easy as an fstab entry or is it necessary to
> relabel the disks, etc...?
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> 
> Jesse J. Rock			Accretive Technology Group
> Network Operations		www.accretive-networks.net
> Seattle,Washington		jesse@accretive-networks.net
> 
> "Eschew Obfuscation"
> 
> 
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> 

-- 
Annelise Anderson
Author of: 		 FreeBSD: An Open-Source Operating System for Your PC
Available from:	 BSDmall.com and amazon.com
Book Website:    http://www.bittreepress.com/FreeBSD/introbook/	




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