Step by step change root password:
1. Boot up your Fedora 10 system, on the boot up splash screen press and hold shift key until you enter the GRUB screen as show on figure below
figure show Fedora 10 boot screen, press and hold "shift" key here and wait until GRUB boot menu screen appear
2. figure show Fedora 10 GRUB boot menu screen, if you have multiple operating system installed, you may have to select the Fedora 10 as show on figure below by using the 'up' and 'down' key... then hit the 'e' key to enter GRUB editing mode
3. Use the 'up' and 'down' key again, select the 'kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.i686 ro root=UUID=27f6ac23-638f-439a-8a97-2baaf6a32922 rhgb quiet', and the hit the 'e' key again to edit the grub command line.
4. The below screen appear after you hit the 'e' key, now notice that you mouse cursor at the end of line 'kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.i686 ro root=UUID=27f6ac23-638f-439a-8a97-2baaf6a32922 rhgb quiet'.
5. Change at the end of the line that say 'rhgb quiet' to 'linux single' as show on the example below.
From : kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.i686 ro root=UUID=27f6ac23-638f-439a-8a97-2baaf6a32922 rhgb quiet
To : kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.i686 ro root=UUID=27f6ac23-638f-439a-8a97-2baaf6a32922 linux single
hit 'Enter' key after finish enter the 'linux single' at the end of kernel line, as show on GRUB screen above.
6. Hit the 'b' key to boot the selected kernel and start the boot process to Linux single user mode.
7. After you hit the 'b' key, the Fedora 10 should reboot and then enter the single user mode and should give you root shell terminal without prompt any password field or ask for password. The example below show the single user terminal screen.
Remounting root filesystem in read-write mode :
Mounting local filesystems :
Enabling local filesystem quotas :
Enabling /etc/fstab swaps :
[root@fedora /]#
Change root password
Issue passwd command to change root user password on Fedora 10 after we finish the procedure to enter the Linux single mode as show on step by step example above.
[root@fedora /]# passwd <-- Start type in 'passwd' command and hit Enter key
Changing password for user root.
New UNIX password:
BAD PASSWORD: it is too simplistic/systematic
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.
[root@fedora /]#
Then reboot the system and start using the new root password for your Fedora 10 system
[root@fedora /]# reboot <-- Type in 'reboot' command and hit Enter key to start reboot Fedora system
Note: To verify your new root password please login as normal user and execute the 'su -' command on the shell terminal, then enter the new Fedora 10 password when ask.
Trouble shoot:
If message say that 'passwd: Authentication token lock busy' display when you execute passwd command to change root password, execute command below to remount the system:
[root@fedora /]# mount -o remount, rw / <-- Then hit the Enter key
Execute the password command again:
[root@fedora /]# passwd
Then reboot the system
[root@fedora /]# reboot