Restore passwords

[Francisco_29]

There exists some way of recovering or restoring the password for the user ROOT...?

[Patrick Wallek]

There is no way to find out the password if you do not know it.

You *COULD* restore /etc/passwd (if the system is not trusted - but this would restore EVERYONE) or /tcb/files/auth/r/root to try and get the passwd back to an old one.

What has happened? What exactly do you need to accomplish?

[RAC_1]

No way.

If you do not know the password, you can recover it.

You boot into single user mode and reset it.

[Helen French]

If you have a latest backup, you can restore the passwd file from it. If you can't login to the system, then you need to boot in single user mode and reset it from there.

[Francisco_29]

I have a HP9000 server, this was power down at June 2001. I don't have any valid user- password, the last administrator doesn´t left documentation. Now I need start up the server & put on-line.


What can I do...?

[Pete Randall]

Assuming the server is not "trusted", you simply boot into single user mode (interrupt the boot process, interact with ISL, enter "hpux -is"). You will be logged in as root and simply use the passwd command to change the password.


Pete

[MarkSyder]

There are password cracking tools out there available for free download from the internet. I downloaded one called "John the ripper" when I started as a sys admin as we had a server whose password we didn't know. It ran for over a week and cracked approximately half the passwords on the server (not including the one we wanted!).

Type john the ripper in Google if you want to give it a try. But it is quicker and easier to reboot the server in single user mode and reset the password.

Mark Syder (like the drink but spelt different)

[doug mielke]

Do you need the data on that old server. I'd hate to try to manage one so old, undocumented, and of someone elses build. Who knows what other issues you'll find.

If it was me, I'd be leaning towards a clean re-install of the OS, and make it a known reliable entity.

[John Carr_2]

boot in single mode and change the password using password command if not in trusted mode.

If system is trusted

mount -a
cd /tcb/auth/files/r

edit root file removing encrypted password from file.

reboot

[John Carr_2]

Hi again

I just thought you might not be able to interrupt the boot process to get to the ISL to boot single user mode.

A work around i have used which HP will say is dangerous is to shutdown the system unplug the scsi cable from the boot disk power on, the system will not find the boot disk and drop straight into maintaince mode then plug the scsi cable back in. run SEArch check disk is visible and boot into single user mode

:-) John.