2 Questions About Ubuntu

[kendall.a]

I am forced to use my backup, backup computer that is almost 10 years old. It is one that I installed Ubuntu on (dual-booted with XP) several months ago. However, for the life of me, I can't remember my Ubuntu login password. I've tried everything I can think of. Are both the username and password case-sensitive? Is there anyway to bypass or figure out my password?

I have also been considering removing Ubuntu and trying a different distro like Mint. This machine only has 512 MB RAM in it, so booting into Windows XP and running Firefox takes freaking forever. I'm not sure how to uninstall Ubuntu? How would I go about deleting Ubuntu and then installing another distro?

Signed: A Linux Newbie

[torres-no-tan-magnifico]

Hi kendall,

If its any comfort I too have Ubuntu installed on a dual boot system and for the life of me I can't remember my password either!

My other OS is also XP; regarding uninstalling Ubuntu you can use the Add/Remove facility in the CP or (preferably) Revo.

Removing Ubuntu should give you approx 27MB of free space on your HDD.

Hope this helps.

[wdhpr]

How would I go about deleting Ubuntu and then installing another distro?

Just install your new distro

From my experience with Simply Mepis. It will format the existing partition during the install process. Might want to to save any files before proceeding
Just make sure you have selected your former linux partition.

Default password are: user for user and root for root. You would be surprised how many people ask for the default password on the linux forums

Cheers
Wdhpr

[Anupam]

kendall, did you forget the password on Ubuntu, for the user you had created? I think it must be for the user, since Ubuntu family does not require you to set the password for root while installation. I had installed Linux Mint and it had not asked to set the root password.

If that is the case, then as told by wdhpr, you can login as root with the password root, and then change the password for the user, by using the command :

passwd <username>

The password is case sensitive, and the username too. In Linux, things will always be case-sensitive.

I wrote the above steps assuming that you are still able to login to Ubuntu as root. If you are not able to login as root, then follow this link to reset your password :

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/resetpassword

As for uninstalling Ubuntu, as wdhr said, you can just proceed with installing another Linux. Modern Linux installations detect already present OS, and act accordingly at the time of partition, so there should be no problem. Just install over the current Linux partition. Remember to backup your data on that partition, if any.

[Anupam]

Originally Posted by torresmagnifico

regarding uninstalling Ubuntu you can use the Add/Remove facility in the CP or (preferably) Revo.
Removing Ubuntu should give you approx 27MB of free space on your HDD.

I don't think the above would work, if Ubuntu is installed on a different partition, or a different hard disk. And, I don't think Ubuntu would just require 27 MB of disk space. It is a full fledged OS, how can it just occupy only 27 MB?

You might be right in the case you are talking about version of Linux that can be installed within the Windows. I have forgot the name exactly, what such versions are called. Still 27 MB of even such Linux is hard for me to digest.

[Jojo Yee]

Originally Posted by Anupam

You might be right in the case you are talking about version of Linux that can be installed within the Windows. I have forgot the name exactly, what such versions are called. Still 27 MB of even such Linux is hard for me to digest.

If Ubuntu is installed from within Windows using Wubi, then it can be uninstalled from Windows using add/remove programs or revo. But if it's a standard install outside from Windows, I think it can only be overwritten by another install or by removing a partition.

For a standard install, Ubuntu takes up a disk space of about 2 GB, while Windows takes up a lot more. See Benchmarked: Ubuntu vs Vista vs Windows 7

[kendall.a]

The Ubuntu that I installed was installed outside of windows as a dual-boot. It is not visible in add/remove programs. I downloaded the Ubuntu iso image, burned it onto a CD/DVD and then booted off of it. I then allowed it to partition my HD and install itself as a dual-boot with Windows.

One odd thing, though, is that my standard usb keyboard doesn't get read at boot-up. I cannot use my usb keyboard and use it's arrow keys to highlight my Windows XP boot. (The boot defaults to Ubuntu.) Right now, I have to have 2 keyboards connected to this pc. My normal Logitech keyboard and then a much older non-usb keyboard (with a round plug that I forget what you call).

[Jojo Yee]

Originally Posted by kendall

One odd thing, though, is that my standard usb keyboard doesn't get read at boot-up. I cannot use my usb keyboard and use it's arrow keys to highlight my Windows XP boot. (The boot defaults to Ubuntu.) Right now, I have to have 2 keyboards connected to this pc. My normal Logitech keyboard and then a much older non-usb keyboard (with a round plug that I forget what you call).

Possible solutions:

1. Make sure USB ports are enabled in the BIOS, if supported.
2. Use a USB to PS/2 adapter
3. Change Default Boot Options using Startup Manager in Ubuntu.

Hope this helps.

[kendall.a]

The password is case sensitive, and the username too. In Linux, things will always be case-sensitive.

I wrote the above steps assuming that you are still able to login to Ubuntu as root. If you are not able to login as root, then follow this link to reset your password :

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/resetpassword

User and root did not work. I was still unable to boot into Ubuntu. However, the link you provided was clear and I was able to use it to once again get into Ubuntu. Thanks a ton for the link!

[Anupam]

Great to know the link worked for you kendall . Cheers!