Recover Password

[irbaboon]

How to recover a root password in HPUX Systems( 11.00 & 10.20)

[A. Clay Stephenson · Accepted solution]

To recover the original -assuming it was robust to begin with - is all but hopeless. You can reboot the machine and come up in single-user mode.

1) Interrupt the boot by pressing after the console message is displayed.

2) BOOT PRI

3) Interact with IPL? Y

4) At ISL> enter hpux -is

5) You will then come up as root in single-user mode and can use the passwd command to set a new root passwd. You can then boot normally.

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

Hi,

Boot the system into single user mode. To do it, reboot the system (hard reset or through GSP's rs utility), stop the boot, interact with ISL.

ISL>hpux -is

This will put you into single user mode without asking for the password. You can change the password there. If you cannot, then you can edit /etc/passwd file or /tcb/files/auth/r/root (if the system is trusted) and remove the encrypted entry.

If yours is trusted and if you enabled "password required on single user mode", then you will have to boot the system through Recovery CD (10.20) or Install/Recovery CD (11.0). There is a bit procedure involved in activating the root disk.

-Sri

[John Dvorchak]

You have to reboot the system to single user mode. When it starts back up and says hit any key in 10 seconds to interrupt the boot sequence. Then select boot primary and when asked if you want to interact with the IPL say yes. At that prompt type HPUX -is . That will boot it from the primary disk to a single user mode and present you with a prompt. At the prompt type passwd:

#passwd

It will prompt you for the new password twice. Then reboot it with shutdown:

#shutdown -ry 0

and let it reboot and come up normally.

[Michael Tully]

Depending on the system, (being trusted or not)you should be able to boot it into single user mode and change the password (assuming the system is not already turned on)

interrupt the boot sequence when the 10 second warning appears.

from the prompt
BO
interact with ISL (yes)
ISL> hpux -is

This will boot the system into single user mode and you should have the '#' displayed. If the system is not trusted, then you can at this point change the password.

[Anil C. Sedha]

Hi Irba,

What clay suggests is all that you are left with.

So try doing that. Also, check if your system was on NIS. Were you using "sudo", if yes, then you can do a rlogin to this system and change the root password.

Sudo has many advantages. Try setting it up if you haven't upto now. You may do this in case you have multiple systems.

Enjoy
Anil