Message-ID: <69c45fbb@news.ausics.net> From: not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) Subject: Re: Why you need a root password Newsgroups: comp.sys.raspberry-pi References: <10q0p4l$1vp9d$1@dont-email.me> User-Agent: tin/2.6.5-20251224 ("Glenury") (Linux/2.4.31 (i586)) NNTP-Posting-Host: news.ausics.net Date: 26 Mar 2026 08:20:43 +1000 Organization: Ausics - https://newsgroups.ausics.net Lines: 23 X-Complaints: abuse@ausics.net Path: csiph.com!news.bbs.nz!news.ausics.net!not-for-mail Xref: csiph.com comp.sys.raspberry-pi:37896 The Natural Philosopher wrote: > ...if your system fails to boot and you end up in maintenance mode there > is no way out except use of the root login and password... Strange, if it can read the root password hash from storage, why can't it read the other ones? Does RPi OS it store that password in the initrd but not the other ones? When they can't mount the root filesystem, I remember other Linux distros going to a command prompt without asking for a password, though I haven't seen what RPi OS does. > And if its a Pi zero you have to buy adapters to plug in a USB keyboard > to enter it on and an HDMI monitor to see what is going on. A quick and cheap alternative is to cut a USB extension cable or a lead from an old PC USB socket back-panel and solder it to the test points with the USB signals on the bottom of the Pi Zero's circuit board. For the monitor, solder wires or a header to the composite video output which can be enabled in config.txt. -- __ __ #_ < |\| |< _#