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obeying instructions i get error message when attempting to change user-password [i.e., not the 'unlocking' password]

Asked by p s hughes

New user,
having just [successfully] installed ubuntu as sole OS on my e-machines PC.

I set a complicated encryption password,
and it works;
but, at login, when I enter my 14-character user-password
[also complicated because at set-up it kept telling me that my initial p'wd attempts were "weak"]
it refuses to accept it.
[it is the same p'wd that I used to log-in here].

I followed the first 5 steps of the instructions copied below*, but then I get a 3-line error message.
Here are the instructions:
_______________

 * " From the official Ubuntu LostPassword documentation:
    Reboot your computer.
    Hold Shift during boot to start GRUB menu.
    Highlight your image and press E to edit. [where I assume "image" refers to " *Ubuntu "]
    Find the line starting with "linux" and append rw init=/bin/bash at the end of that line. [where I assume
         the 1st and 4th entries are SPACES]
    Press Ctrl + X to boot.
    Type in passwd username.
    Set your password. "
________________

After pressing Ctrl+X, I am asked to "unlock disk sda5_crypt", which I am able to do successfully.
But then, what follows is a black screen with the following 3-line error message in the top left corner:

       bash: cannot set terminal process group (-1): Inappropriate ioctl for device
       bash: no job control in this shell
       root[illegible symbol](none):/# [and a flashing cursor]

where my best GUESS for the illegible symbol is a numeric 0 with the letter E inside it.
 [FYI: in my previous WinXP set-up the hard drive was partitioned
into C (for programs, etc.) and E (for "data" -- content in files & folders).]

Thus, I never reach a screen that allows me to 'change'/correct my user-password.

Can you help?

Question information

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Solved by:
actionparsnip
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Revision history for this message
Best actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

I suggest you follow the psychocat password reset process if you want to reset your user password. Sounds like you need to remount your file system. The guide will help with this

Revision history for this message
p s hughes (phli) said : 		#2

Thank you very much.
I failed in my first 'psychocats' attempt
[getting a system error message each time
at the point where I tried to create a new password].

When you said I might need "to remount your file system",
I had no specific notion of what you meant;
but serendipitously,
having tried pressing the machine's BIOS/CMOS [or maybe "boot system"] hotkey [F2 or F10], I stumbled upon a "remount file" option, and I ran it.

I don't know whether that worked or not,
but my second attempt to reset the password was a success.

So, your advice was successful, and much appreciated.
Thanks,
phil hughes
--
Phli ["Mighty Flea"] Hughes
<email address hidden>

**

----- Original message -----
From: actionparsnip <email address hidden>
To: <email address hidden>
Subject: Re: [Question #648015]: obeying instructions i get error message when attempting to change user-password [i.e., not the 'unlocking' password]Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2017 06:09:29 -0000

Your question #648015 on ubuntu-docs in Ubuntu changed:
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubuntu-docs/+question/648015
    Status: Open => Answered

actionparsnip proposed the following answer:
I suggest you follow the psychocat password reset process if you want toreset your user password. Sounds like you need to remount your file
system. The guide will help with this

--
If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let usknow that it is solved:
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Revision history for this message
p s hughes (phli) said : 		#3

e-mail of gratitude sent to "actionparsnip"

Revision history for this message
p s hughes (phli) said : 		#4

The words
            '" You are still having a problem: "
were NOT in the e-mail I sent.
They are not my words.

----- Original message -----
From: p s hughes <email address hidden>
To: <email address hidden>
Subject: Re: [Question #648015]: obeying instructions i get error message when attempting to change user-password [i.e., not the 'unlocking' password]Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2017 21:44:25 -0000

Your question #648015 on ubuntu-docs in Ubuntu changed:
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubuntu-docs/+question/648015
    Status: Answered => Open

You are still having a problem:
Thank you very much.
I failed in my first 'psychocats' attempt
[getting a system error message each time
at the point where I tried to create a new password].

When you said I might need "to remount your file system",
I had no specific notion of what you meant;
but serendipitously,
having tried pressing the machine's BIOS/CMOS [or maybe "boot system"]
hotkey [F2 or F10], I stumbled upon a "remount file" option, and I ran
it.

I don't know whether that worked or not,
but my second attempt to reset the password was a success.

So, your advice was successful, and much appreciated.
Thanks,
phil hughes
--
Phli ["Mighty Flea"] Hughes
<email address hidden>

**