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ubuntu 8.04 cant boot how do I factory restore?

Asked by RogueMyztik

I bought a dell inspiron mini 910 laptop with an Ubuntu/dell operating system. I have not been able to get into my new computer since the day it arrived in 1/2009. I only used the computer once to put in a username & password. I then had to put my computer into storage due to unexpected immediate relocation. Recently my mini was sent to me from storage. I cannot log on to my Ubuntu due to forgotten user name and pass word. Dell has been horrible at helping me. I have version 8.04 and also my dell came with a windows desktop program as well as a disk for dell utilities & drivers for the 910 system. So I thought I could either run my laptop in Ubuntu mode or in Windows XP mode. This is what dell said when selling me this system. Now they are denying that they ever sold any systems with that configuration. How can I restore my Ubuntu to factory? I have tried booting system from external cd drive with the Ubuntu disk in it and that is not working. Even with the boot menu set to boot from cd drive. It asks for bios information and gives me no other options. Dell fed X d me the newest version of Ubuntu on a usb drive which states that it is to restore system to factory. However this does nothing at all when set to boot from usb port. Please help me. I am at my wits end with this problem. My system has 32G hard drive. I was told that I could run Windows XP and Ubuntu both from this amount of hard drive memory. Is that true? I would like to be able to restore my computer to factory and use it to learn the Ubuntu program and compatible software. Please advise on how to achieve this.
Thank You.
RogueMyztik

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Marc Stewart (marc.stewart) said : 		#1

If the only problem is a forgotten username/password, you don't need to go to all the effort of restoring the system. You can ask Ubuntu for your username, and then reset your password. Here's how:

When you turn on the computer, hold down SHIFT until the GRUB menu appears.

Use the up and down arrows to select the first entry that has (recovery mode) at the end, e.g.:
Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-19-generic (recovery mode)
and press ENTER.

You'll soon get a blue screen with a grey Recovery Menu on it. From it, pick:
root Drop to a root shell prompt

At the bottom of the screen, a command prompt will appear.

First, you'll need to get your username. Try* typing:
cat /etc/passwd | grep 1000
If you're the only user, that should return a single line with your details, e.g.:
username:x:1000:1000:Full Name,,,:/home/username:/bin/bash
The first bit is your username.

Next, sort out your password. Type, replacing username with your actual username:
passwd username
Now type your new password at each of the two prompts.

Finally, restart the computer. Type:
shutdown -r now

Your computer will restart, and you'll be able to log in with your username and new password.

* If cat /etc/passwd | grep 1000 doesn't find your username, you can also try:
cat /etc/passwd | grep /home
or even just:
cat /etc/passwd
which lists ALL users (mostly system users, and requires you to find the relevant one yourself)

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