loss password & cann't boot up to single user

[Rambo_1]

I loss the root password,and I try to boot to single user so that i can change the password,but whatever I boot ,it still boot up to Level 3 automatic,below is the commands which i used to boot up:
P00>>>b -fl s
or
P00>>>b -fi vmunix -fl s
or
P00>>>b -fi genvmunix -fl s
there is a messages during booting:
"failed to get boot flags"

is it the only that I have to re-install OS?

Thanks

[Ninad_1]

This seems to be a strange problem. Are you sure you have given us all the information. are there any other messages ?
P00>>>b -fl s
has to work. and the message "failed to get boot flags" doesnt seem to be OS problem so dont worry you will not be required to re-install.
Observe exactly what all happens and what messages appear after typing the command for boot and let us know

Ninad

[Dave Bechtold · Accepted solution]

Hi Rambo,

The "boot -fl s" would be the correct SRM console command to boot the system to Single User mode normally. It's possible that the /etc/inittab file was edited such that run-level S (Single-User) is no longer valid. Also there is a srm console feature to secure the console such that only a straight "boot" can be performed with no options. the "set login" commandis used to prompt for the SRM console password to allow alternate boot commands. Usually the System Admin. is aware of this and knows the password. So, I'm going t assume that's not the case here.

The other option would be to boot the Operating System CDROM, exit to the shell, mount the system disk root file system and then manually edit the /etc/passwd file and remove the password field data so there is nothing there. Then boot off that disk to Multi-user mode and enter no password when prompted for one when logging in to root.

Regards,
Dave Bechtold

[Michael Schulte zur Sur]

Hi,

can you post show boot* ? What machine and what firmware release,os do you have?

greetings,

Michael