Linux Mint Forums

Hi. I have done some researching throughout the forum using keywords such as "root" and 'root password not recognized". I have only come across this post here:
which does explain my current problem. The exact same one as a matter of fact.

I cannot seem to update Linux Mint (running the 64 bit version) or install any upgrades. As it stands I have numbers within my password. And I think that this might be part of the problem. There is 1 number before and 1 number after the 5 letter password, making the password 7 alpha-numeric characters long.

I do not have the CAPS on. Nor does the 'Shift' key when using the numbers atop the letters work either when trying to input the password. Just as marouane87 says in post #2. Again, that does not seem to work either.
I have also tried the number keys to the left of a keyboard. This does not work either.
I have also tried the terminal command as breaker in post #4 has also posted. This does not work either.
I have also tried the virtual console as talked about in post #4 in the link I gave above and tried to place the username and pass there as well with no luck.
I have also tried to input the password without the numbers preceeding and proceeding the 5 alpa-character password. This does not work either.

Typically Mint will be installed in such a fashion that you create a User during installation and a password, this password is usually what most will use for sudo
Is that the case for you?

yes, it is. I followed the typical setup procedures.

Just a thought but have you considered you may have pressed the space key at some point while entering your pass during installation, this would count as a character . . . . .
Might be worth trying even if it's just to eliminate it from the possibilities.........

Also, I'm thinking NumLock?
Maybe you thought there were numbers, but maybe not?

You should be able to:
- boot your Live installation medium
- Mount your hard drive by right clicking on the icon on your desktop and select Mount.
- Open a terminal and look for the mount point by typing the command ls /media/ and looking for the other folder not named cdrom.
- Once you have the new mount point, type the command cd /media/<mountpoint> and press enter, where <mountpoint> is the folder name for the mount point.
- Type the command sudo chroot and press enter when you are in that new folder.
- Type the command sudo passwd <username> where <username> was the user name you had been using. This should prompt you to enter your new password once to enter it and a second time to confirm the password. This time make very, very sure you look at the caps-lock and num-lock indicators when you type your password.

This should fix your problem. You can exit terminal and reboot your computer, removing your Live medium.

Hi everyone. Thanks very much for your responses.

Firstly, caf4926. This I also checked to make sure that the number lock was not activated. This I know because when I went to the virtual terminal as given in the link that I provided above in which I tried some of the suggestions posted there, I was able to visually identify this fact that I used my username.

Also, daveinuk, I am not sure if I pressed the space bar during the initialization of my pass. It might be difficult for me to find out where exactly within the context of the pass it would be, I know, it's only 7 alpha-numeric characters long. Though during the initial process of making a password after installation, you know that the passwords would have to be the same. As such, I don't recall selecting the space bar. Still it might be though. Good idea and I will definitly look into that. Though to be honest, I have my doubts on whether or not I used the space bar simply because the password that I entered to select for authentication purposes is one that I use frequently and it does not involve the use of the space bar.

@cwsnyder. Thanks for this idea. I am going to try your idea as well. One thing that I need to be certain of is that because I booted the Live installation via USB, I take it you must mean that I have to burn the Live install to CD as I mounted and installed via USB. Regardless, I have a feeling this might work.

No, you don't have to burn a CD/DVD, just boot from your thumb drive and follow the directions.

cwsnyder wrote:No, you don't have to burn a CD/DVD, just boot from your thumb drive and follow the directions.

Thanks cwsnyder. Your help was greatly appreciated.
What a relief to have the help you gave me. And that goes for the other people who posted to provide suggestions and offers of help. Thanks again everyone!