[ABANDONED] Screwed up trying to change password and need help.

[Shabakthanai]

Kubuntu 12.04 KDE4.8.5

I gave my laptop to a neighbor, but wanted to remove my passwords and private information. I am able to open the OS using the new owner's name and password, but in the process I deleted something that makes it so that I can include her name in the sudoer's list. I have already removed my name from the users, so apparently I changed the root password without knowin it.

I was attempting to install firefox for her and was using the command line. When I typed in "sudo apt-get install firefox" a password was requested. I typed in her password which was rejected. I typed in my old password thinking that it was still able to open the root folder. I was wrong and that is where my problem is.

Is there a way to get back command privileges without reinstallation of the operating system?

I promised to give her the computer tomorrow morning and desire to keep my word. If I haven't gotten help within an hour, I will re-install kubuntu 12.04. It is just a lot of work to get everyting configured and the appropriate packages installed, so thanks in advance for any help you may provide.

Don, it's me, Steven, if you can and are willing to help. I realize there may be some security problems that may have to be breached in order to help me. Additionally, to any other administrator, if you recognize my username "Shabakthanai". It took my password to open this site.

[vinnywright]

if you can boot into recovery mode and open a root console add her to the adm group with adduser .

like "adduser herusername adm"

VINNY

[Shabakthanai]

if you can boot into recovery mode and open a root console add her to the adm group with adduser .

like "adduser herusername adm"

VINNY

Thank you for your kind and prompt response. I was able to open in recovery. I sellected the root choice and got the following comment:
gpasswd: cannot lock /etc/group; try again later.
adduser: '/usr/bin/gpasswd -a diana adm' returned error code 1. Exiting.
root@Yeshuah:~#

I will wait for additional info for another hour, I do not know how to proceed without further advice. Succeed or fail, I am extremely grateful for the attempt. Thanks friend.

[vinnywright]

hold on wile I test something .......BRB

VINNY

[Shabakthanai]

hold on wile I test something .......BRB

VINNY

After all these years, that was the first time I have attempted the 'recovery mode'. It was wonderful to find I could access a root prompt.

I certainly will wait. As you can see, my use of the command line is very limited. Those ways I know to use it, I use all the time. Thanks for your continued support.

[vinnywright]

ok back

try this ,,,,,,reboot the computer , at the grub screen with the default entry highlighted press e , use the arrow keys to move the courser to the end of the line that starts with linux,,backspace out the vt-handoff quiet splash and ro ,,,,then type ,,,,

rw init=/bin/bash

now press ctrl+x and wate for it to boot to a root prompt and then quickly try the adduser username adm agin .

I was successful in doing a ,, addgroup foo and then adduser vinny foo ,,, this way just now ,,,,,,,if you did not delete any necessary system files wile removing yourself from the system this should work ,,,,,,after she is in the adm group her password should work with sudo .

if you lose the prompt to something hapening in the system (like it droping a mouse) just hit enter ,,,,,,and when your done with the adduser comand press ctrl+alt+delete to reboot.

VINNY

[kubicle]

The correct group for "sudo access" is 'admin' (default on older installations) or 'sudo' (newer installations)...'adm' group is for system monitoring only, not related to sudo (gives access to logs, for example).

Useful commands in a root prompt:
'cat /etc/sudoers'
(check sudoers config)
'groups username'
(shows the groups username is in)
'adduser username group'
(if necessary to add user to group)

[vinnywright]

The correct group for "sudo access" is 'admin' (default on older installations) or 'sudo' (newer installations)...'adm' group is for system monitoring only, not related to sudo (gives access to logs, for example).

Useful commands in a root prompt:
'cat /etc/sudoers'
(check sudoers config)
'groups username'
(shows the groups username is in)
'adduser username group'
(if necessary to add user to group)

Humm my bad then I could have sworen that I made a new user once and all it requierd to get them sudo acsess was the adm group ......well @Shabakthanai you heard the man ,,,,,, add her to the sudo group as well ,,,,,,,if you can

VINNY

PS: AAaaaa and it would seem as though the admin group still has acsess in 12.10

vinny@vinny-HP-G62:~$ sudo cat /etc/sudoers
[sudo] password for vinny:
#
# This file MUST be edited with the 'visudo' command as root.
#
# Please consider adding local content in /etc/sudoers.d/ instead of
# directly modifying this file.
#
# See the man page for details on how to write a sudoers file.
#
Defaults env_reset
Defaults mail_badpass
Defaults secure_path="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin"

# Host alias specification

# User alias specification

# Cmnd alias specification

# User privilege specification
root ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

# Members of the admin group may gain root privileges
%admin ALL=(ALL) ALL

# Allow members of group sudo to execute any command
%sudo ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

# See sudoers(5) for more information on "#include" directives:

#includedir /etc/sudoers.d

@ Shabakthanai you may as well make shur she is in all theses groups as well

vinny@vinny-HP-G62:~$ groups
vinny adm cdrom sudo dip plugdev lpadmin sambashare foo

,,,well you can leave out the vinny and foo group

[Shabakthanai]

ok back

try this ,,,,,,reboot the computer , at the grub screen with the default entry highlighted press e , use the arrow keys to move the courser to the end of the line that starts with linux,,backspace out the vt-handoff quiet splash and ro ,,,,then type ,,,, now press ctrl+x and wate for it to boot to a root prompt and then quickly try the adduser username adm agin .

I was successful in doing a ,, addgroup foo and then adduser vinny foo ,,, this way just now ,,,,,,,if you did not delete any necessary system files wile removing yourself from the system this should work ,,,,,,after she is in the adm group her password should work with sudo .

if you lose the prompt to something hapening in the system (like it droping a mouse) just hit enter ,,,,,,and when your done with the adduser comand press ctrl+alt+delete to reboot.

VINNY

I must have done something wrong. When I booted to "Recovery" then selected "Root", the command line appeared. It said:
Root@Yeshuah:~#
I could not see any way or have the ability to highlight "Root@Yeshuah:~#" so I typed in "e" and pressed enter.

The result, I am unable to remember, however, it was clear I must reboot and contact you. I pressed Ctrl Alt Del and it returned to the choice to resume normal boot. I pressed Enter and the Login Screen appeared. It showed the user as "diana", so I typed in her password, but the entry failed and the area highlighted in a pale red color. I tried again; it failed again. In the user area I typed in steven "my username" and my old password and it failed. I typed in "Yeshuah", which is the name I had for the computer and typed in, first her password, then my old password, and both failed again. Then lastly, I changed the username back to "diana" and retried her password. When it failed, I decided to change computers and returned to the forum.

I believe I followed your instructions to the letter, but was never able to try your final selections at the command prompt. I am old and probably probably too inexperienced to follow your instructions properly. I will wait one more hour for a response to see if you can put me back on track. If the damage is too great, I will re-install the OS.

Thanks for your patience and understanding and thoughtfulness, etc. etc., my friend. You were and are a stellar helper. The shortcomings are mine.

[vinnywright]

I must have done something wrong. When I booted to "Recovery"

no you dont boot to recovery you do the steps I sead at the normal boot selection in the grub menu ,,,as if you were going to boot up normaly . in other words press "e" wile the normal boot entry is highlighted not the recovery boot line.
you do this befor you boot anything.

VINNY

[vinnywright]

I must go to bead now good luck ,,,,,,, let us know how you fare , I will check bak befor I go to work.

VINNY

[Shabakthanai]

Humm my bad then I could have sworen that I made a new user once and all it requierd to get them sudo acsess was the adm group ......well @Shabakthanai you heard the man ,,,,,, add her to the sudo group as well ,,,,,,,if you can

Dear Vinney,

After I posted the last reply, I went back and opened "Recovery Mode"
VINNY

PS: AAaaaa and it would seem as though the admin group still has acsess in 12.10

@ Shabakthanai you may as well make shur she is in all theses groups as well ,,,well you can leave out the vinny and foo group

I think I am getting things too screwed up, anyway, I tried again and when the default was highlighted, and I pressed "e", a new screen appeared. The only line beginning with linux read as follows:

"linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-generic root=UUID=9757 dbb1-5bc8-4471-9914-9b1e7b78d5f4 ro recovery nomodeset
echo 'loading initail ramdisk...'

The portion you described was not present for me to backspace out then type in "rw init=/bin/bash"

The next reply you made is too far over my head. It is confusing at my level of understanding, so I think it is time to re-install.

Thanks again for your kindness.

I continue to try to learn from the fine help I get in the forum, but I am getting near the end of my time on this earth. Although I will continue to try, I think I may not have enough life left to grasp much more. I only hope you don't feel you wasted your time.

When you get to my age and health, you still do not give up. You continue as though there is a long future, even though logically there is not. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, friend.

[kubicle]

PS: AAaaaa and it would seem as though the admin group still has acsess in 12.10

Yes, it's kept for compatibility (to not screw up existing installations that used admin as default)...as you can see from your 'groups' command, the 'sudo' group is the newer default.
So either 'sudo' or 'admin' group will do, but the main thing is not to confuse 'adm' and 'admin' groups, they are separate groups with separate purposes.

[Shabakthanai]

I must go to bead now good luck ,,,,,,, let us know how you fare , I will check bak befor I go to work.

VINNY

I am glad I didn't give up, even though, I still cannot get in.

I went back and attempted the instruction again at the boot menu with the default highlighted and pressed 'e'. The proper line appeared and I backed out what you suggested. Nonetheless, when I completed the instruction and rebooted the computer, when the login screen appeared, it had diana as user. I typed in her password; it was rejected.

Just in case you reread this before you retire, I will wait for a response for a while. I cannot wait until the morning and keep my commitment, so if I don't catch you in time, I will re-install.

I know it is difficult for experienced users to understand how difficult it is for we inexperienced to understand what are seemingly easy instructions. Believe it or not, I am getting better all the time.

[Shabakthanai]

no you dont boot to recovery you do the steps I sead at the normal boot selection in the grub menu ,,,as if you were going to boot up normaly . in other words press "e" wile the normal boot entry is highlighted not the recovery boot line.
you do this befor you boot anything.

VINNY

Actually, I didn't quit Vinny. I reread the instruction and was able to make the changes you suggested. Nevertheless, when I attempted to boot again, the login failed. The login screen had diana for user, but her password failed. I did backspace out the data you recommended and added the line you suggested. I cannot figure out what I might have done wrong, but I am unable to open the Operating System anymore.