I had this problem on one of my HP9000 systems when the root file system ran
out of space.  I copied the /etc/passwd file from another system I had and
then used that password to login.  I then restored the /etc/passwd file from
tape.

David Knispel
[log in to unmask]
Phone: 513-248-5029
Fax: 513-248-2672
----- Original Message -----
From: Emerson, Tom # El Monte <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2000 6:40 PM
Subject: Re: Corrupted password? Please help !!!


> While I'm generally leery of giving an answer to a "help, I've forgotten
the
> system manager's password" type question [because from this side of the
> e-mail fence I have no real way of knowing the legitimacy of the request]
> you've given a "good enough" indication you aren't a random hacker
breaking
> in to a system you don't own or manage -- namely, you have physical access
> to the console and can boot from floppy.  [akin to having the key that
> allows CTRL-B on the console of a 9x9]
>
> Once you've booted in "single user mode", you ARE logged on and should not
> need to log in again -- from the "bash#" prompt, change to the /etc
> directory and look at the passwd file -- if it is truly "corrupted", it
> should be anywhere from partially to totally unreadable; if instead all
the
> passwords have been "mangled" [maliciously or otherwise], everything will
> "look OK", but the password field of each entry [line] of the file will be
> different from what it used to be...
>
> reference the man page for /etc/passwd for the format of this file and
take
> steps accordingly to repair the file [I hope you're "vi" skills are up to
> date!]
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: P ARRECHO1 [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2000 3:05 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Corrupted password? Please help !!!
> >
> >
> > Hi: I have Linux Red Hat V6.0 running on a Pentium II PC,
> > some how the password
> > got corrupted, because now the system will NOT let me logon,
> > nor as a root or
> > as a normal user.
> > Reading the installation guide on p227, it says that if
> > /etc/passwd got
> > corrupted to boot into single mode by typing Linux 1 at the
> > LILO boot prompt,
> > which I did and the system came up with this prompt #bash or
> > something similar,
> > I do not know what to do now, I tried the command login and
> > it did ask me for
> > the password, but again it did not like the answer.
> > If any body have ay ideas? suggestions they are very welcome
> > TIA
> >