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Resetting the root password of a VPS or a migrated Cloud Server (Debian and Ubuntu)

For Linux VPS and migrated Cloud Servers with Debian 11, Debian 12, Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 24.04, which are managed in Cloud Panel

In this article you will learn how to reset the root password of a VPS or a migrated cloud server on which Debian 11, Debian 12, Ubuntu 22.04 or Ubuntu 24.04 is installed.

Caution

These instructions list steps that can lead to data loss if performed incorrectly. Therefore, always create a backup before resetting the root password.

Requirements

  • The server is switched on.

  • You have created a backup of the server in question.

Load Rescue System

  • Log in to your IONOS account.

  • Click on the  Servers & Cloud tile. If you have multiple server contracts, select the desired contract.

  • Activate the desired server in the Infrastructure > Server area.
  • Click on DVD drive.
  • Activate the Gparted latest_iso DVD.
  • Click on Load DVD.
  • Click on Yes.

The server is restarted and the DVD is loaded. This may take a moment.

Starting the rescue system

  • Click on Action > Open remote console.
  • Select GParted Live (Default Settings) from the menu.
Screenshot: Das GParted Live Boot-Menü wird angezeigt. In Menü werden verschiedene Startoptionen für GParted Live angezeigt. Die Startoption GParted Live (Default Settings) ist ausgewählt.
Abbildung: Startoption GParted Live (Default Settings) im GParted Live Boot-Menü
  • Select any policy and confirm it with OK.
Screenshot: Das Fenster Configuring console-data wird angezeigt. In diesem Fenster werden mehrere Keymap policies angezeigt.
Abbildung: Keymap policies im Fenster Configuring console-data
  • Select a language. The default is 33 for English.
Screenshot: Das Menü Loading language settings: wird angezeigt. In diesem Menü werden die verfügbaren Sprachen angezeigt. Die Sprache Deutsch (Option 10) ist ausgewählt.
Abbildung: Verfügbare Sprachen im Menü Loading language settings:
  • Enter 0 for the start method.
Screenshot: Die verfügbaren Startmethoden werden angezeigt.
Abbildung: Startmethode für GParted

Change password

  • Close the GParted window by clicking on the black rectangle.
Screenshot: Das Fenster /dev/vda wird angezeigt. In diesem Fenster ist oben rechts das schwarze Rechteck hervorgehoben.
Abbildung: Schwarzes Rechteck im GParted-Fenster
  • Start the Terminal program.
Screenshot: Das Fenster Hauptmenü in GParted wird angezeigt. In Hauptmenü ist das Programm Terminal hervorgehoben.
Abbildung: Programm Terminal im Hauptmenü in GParted

  • To switch to the root user, enter the following command:

    user@debian:$ sudo su

  • Read the hard disc/partition layout with the lsblk command.

    user@debian:$ lsblk

Note

The name of the root file system is required for the next steps. This is usually the largest partition. In this example, vda is the name of the virtual hard disk and vda 1 is the root file system.

  • To mount the root file system, enter the following command and replace the placeholders:

    root@debian:/home/user# mount /PATH/PARTITION /mnt

    Example:

    root@debian:/home/user# mount /dev/vda1 /mnt

  • Check whether loading was successful by executing the lsblk command again. In the example below, the current mount point /mnt is listed in the line vda1.

    root@debian:/home/user# lsblk
    NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
    loop0 7:0 0 423M 1 loop /usr/lib/live/mount/rootfs/filesystem.squashfs
    /run/live/rootfs/filesystem.squashfs
    sr0 11:0 1 488M 0 rom /usr/lib/live/mount/medium
    /run/live/medium
    vda 254:0 0 240G 0 disc
    ├─vda1 254:1 0 239.9G 0 part /mnt
    ├─vda14 254:14 0 3M 0 part
    └─vda15 254:15 0 124M 0 part

  • Change to the root file system with the command chroot /mnt.

    root@debian:/home/user# chroot /mnt

  • To start the password change, enter the following command:

    root@debian:/home/user# passwd root

  • Enter the new password and repeat it.
Note

While you are entering the new password, it will not be displayed for your protection. After you have entered and confirmed your desired character string twice, the password is changed.

Caution

Finally, carry out the following steps before switching back to your regular operating system. Failure to do so may result in data loss.

  • Terminate access to the root file system with the exit command.

    [root@debian:/]# exit

  • To ensure that all changes are correctly applied to the system files, enter the following command:

    user@debian:~$ sync

  • To unmount the root file system, enter the command below. Replace the placeholders.

    umount /PATH/PARTITION

    Example:

    root@debian:/home/user# umount /dev/vda1

  • To check whether the unmount was successful, execute the lsblk command. If your root file system is no longer followed by /mnt, you have successfully unmounted the file system.

    NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
    loop0 7:0 0 423M 1 loop /usr/lib/live/mount/rootfs/filesystem.squashfs
    /run/live/rootfs/filesystem.squashfs
    sr0 11:0 1 488M 0 rom /usr/lib/live/mount/medium
    /run/live/medium
    vda 254:0 0 240G 0 disc
    ├─vda1 254:1 0 239.9G 0 part
    ├─vda14 254:14 0 3M 0 part
    └─vda15 254:15 0 124M 0 part

Eject DVD and restart server

  • Switch back to Cloud Panel.
  • In the Infrastructure > Server area, click on the gparted latest_iso DVD.
  • Click on Yes.
  • Click on Actions > Restart.
  • Click on Yes.

The DVD is ejected and the server is restarted. This may take a moment.

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