Method 1:
1) Stop MySQL daemon if it is currently running by killing all mysqld and mysqld_safe processes:
pkill mysql
pkill mysql-safe
2) Create a file /root/reset-mysql-password and fit it with following contents:
UPDATE mysql.user SET Password=PASSWORD('newpA$$w0rd') WHERE User='root';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
3) To reset the password, run MySQL daemon in safe mode and pass the SQL statements from above-created file:
mysqld_safe —init-file=/root/reset-mysql-password &
4) Password should be changed. Next, delete created file, stop MySQL and start it normally:
rm /root/reset-mysql-password
pkill mysql-safe
/etc/init.d/mysql start
5) The password could be checked with following command:
mysql -u root -p
Method 2:
1) Again, stop MySQL daemon if it is currently running by killing all mysqld and mysqld_safe processes:
pkill mysql
pkill mysql-safe
2) To reset the password run MySQL daemon in safe mode with following options:
mysqld_safe —skip-grant-tables —skip-networking &
In –skip-grant-tables mode, anyone can log into the server and do as they please. When starting with this flag, it is preferable to use –skip-networking flag for security reasons.
3) Next, login to MySQL as root with no password and use the mysql database:
mysql -u root mysql
4) The password could be changed with UPDATE statement:
mysql>UPDATE user SET Password=PASSWORD('newpA$$') WHERE User='root';
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
If error occurs (possibly the root username was deleted), GRANT statement could be used to change the password:
mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'newpA$$';
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
5) After password is reset, MySQL safe daemon should be stopped and started normally:
pkill mysql-safe
/etc/init.d/mysql start
6) The password could be checked with following command:
mysql -u root -p
