Question

mysql root password recovery doesn't work

Asked by: scorpius78

I'm using Debian (Lenny 5.0) and I've just installed mysql and php5 using apt-get. During installation I was prompted to enter a root password, which I did.

Trying to start mysql with the command

mysql

or

mysql -u root -p

and entering the correct password, I get the error message:
ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' (using password: YES)
(The only difference is the it says using password: NO in the first case).

I've looked at possible solutions and most of them point to http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/recover-mysql-root-password.html or http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/resetting-permissions.html#resetting-permissions-unix. I have a hunch though that my problem is not password related at all since I'm very sure of the password I gave during the installation.

Still, I've followed the steps and I get the expected output, except when I run 'mysql -u root -p' after starting up the server again (step 6 in the first URL). It gives me the same error message I right from the start, ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' (using password: YES).

What can I possibly do? I've also tried to start mysql with non-existent usernames and/or passwords, but the error message remains (only the username before the @ changes). In addition, I've tried all this logged in at the console instead of using ssh to Debian, but there is no difference.

When I did step 3 (first URL) and issued the use mysql; command I took a look at a table called user (using select user from user;) where the only existing user was debian-sys-maint. Shouldn't there be a root user or is it somehow buildt-in?

Please answer with non-Linux-guru answers. I'm only human. =)

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Asked On: 2009-10-09 at 18:27:39ID24800985
Tags: mysql
,; linux
,; password
,; recovery
,; access denied
Topics: MySQL Server
,; Debian Linux
,; Disaster Recovery
Participating Experts: 3
Points: 0
Comments: 18

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Answers

by: leakim971Posted on 2009-10-09 at 19:01:12ID: 25540351

Hello scorpius,

No you shoud see a root user in the table use. Sometime more than one (multiple root by host)
First URL, you say you see only one user (select user from user) but have you selected the right database ?
It's first line from Step #4

So continue to step #4 :

mysql> use mysql;
mysql> update user set password=PASSWORD("NEW-ROOT-PASSWORD") where User='root';
mysql> flush privileges;
mysql> quit

If you get an error with the update (second line) come back here and post it please.

Regards.

by: cedlinxPosted on 2009-10-10 at 14:26:36ID: 25543887

Using Password NO just means that you did not specify a password while YES means you did.

Then try:
mysql -u debian-sys-maint -p
and use the password you created. If that doesn't work and the post by leakim971 doesn't work then let's know.

by: scorpius78Posted on 2009-10-10 at 16:35:13ID: 25544283

leakim971:

The right database? Well, when I run show databases I see that there are two databases (which I guess are default because I havnt created any ones yet). They are named information_schema and mysql. Step four in that 1st URL said to use the mysql database, which I did, and I wrote the following two lines without any new error messages. But now when I think about it, after the update user command it does respond
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
Rows matched: 0 Changed: 0 Warnings: 0

Wouldnt that mean it did nothing really since 0 rows were affected? It does say Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec) after the flush priviliges command too.
When I run the status command I get this, if it does help.

mysql> status
--------------
mysql  Ver 14.12 Distrib 5.0.51a, for debian-linux-gnu (i486) using readline 5.2
 
Connection id:          1
Current database:       mysql
Current user:           root@
SSL:                    Not in use
Current pager:          stdout
Using outfile:          ''
Using delimiter:        ;
Server version:         5.0.51a-24+lenny2 (Debian)
Protocol version:       10
Connection:             Localhost via UNIX socket
Server characterset:    latin1
Db     characterset:    latin1
Client characterset:    latin1
Conn.  characterset:    latin1
UNIX socket:            /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
Uptime:                 14 min 52 sec
 
Threads: 1  Questions: 83  Slow queries: 0  Opens: 22  Flush tables: 1  Open tables: 17  Queries per second avg: 0.093
--------------

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by: scorpius78Posted on 2009-10-10 at 16:37:27ID: 25544287

cedlinx:

I tried 'mysql -u debian-sys-maint -p' too, but it just responded with 'ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'debian-sys-maint'@'localhost' (using password: YES)'.

by: leakim971Posted on 2009-10-10 at 16:40:47ID: 25544293

Try to add a new root :

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO root@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password' WITH GRANT OPTION

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by: leakim971Posted on 2009-10-10 at 16:41:57ID: 25544298

So step #4 :

mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO root@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password' WITH GRANT OPTION;
mysql> flush privileges;
mysql> quit

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by: amprantiPosted on 2009-10-10 at 17:24:37ID: 25544407

After you used command: /etc/init.d/mysql stop
did you checked f there is a second mysql running (use command: "ps axuf"). or if the process stopped sucesfully??

This http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/recover-mysql-root-password.html should work to debian and ubuntu! I have followed this tutorial many times!

by: scorpius78Posted on 2009-10-11 at 03:18:11ID: 25545423

leakim971:
Unfortunately that doesn't work either (see the error message down below). And the '--skip-grant-tables' option that it compains about is a prerequisite to be able to get to the mysql command prompt in the first way since the root account doesn't work/exist.

I also tried to create a root account and a testuser account with the lines below but that didn't work out either. It then complained about the '--skip-grant-tables' option again.

Seems like some kind of a catch-22 here where I need to use the '--skip-grant-tables' option to get to the mysql command prompt but I can't do the things I want because of the '--skip-grant-tables' option...

ERROR 1290 (HY000): The MySQL server is running with the --skip-grant-tables option so it cannot execute this statement
 
 
CREATE USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '123456';
ERROR 1290 (HY000): The MySQL server is running with the --skip-grant-tables option so it cannot execute this statement
 
CREATE USER 'testuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '123456';
ERROR 1290 (HY000): The MySQL server is running with the --skip-grant-tables option so it cannot execute this statement

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by: scorpius78Posted on 2009-10-11 at 03:23:50ID: 25545431

ampranti:
Yes I have checked that mysql stops correctly and that there are no other instances of it running.

If you look again at the first URL I said I used in my initial post you would see that it's the same one as the one you are referring to.

by: leakim971Posted on 2009-10-11 at 04:25:12ID: 25545559

With insert :

INSERT INTO user VALUES('localhost','root',PASSWORD('password'),'Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y');

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by: scorpius78Posted on 2009-10-11 at 04:31:29ID: 25545575

leakim971::
Nope, I just get a new error message (see below).

Side question: What does all the 'Y' stand for?

ERROR 1136 (21S01): Column count doesn't match value count at row 1

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by: leakim971Posted on 2009-10-11 at 04:40:03ID: 25545597

The Y set permission, don't forget to replace 'yourpassword' in the following :

insert into user(Host,User,Password,Select_priv,Insert_priv,Update_priv,Delete_priv,Create_priv,Drop_priv,Reload_priv,Shutdown_priv,Process_priv,File_priv,Grant_priv,References_priv,Index_priv,Alter_priv,Show_db_priv,Super_priv,Create_tmp_table_priv,Lock_tables_priv,Execute_priv,Repl_slave_priv,Repl_client_priv,Create_view_priv,Show_view_priv,Create_routine_priv,Alter_routine_priv,Create_user_priv,Event_priv,Trigger_priv,ssl_type,ssl_cipher,x509_issuer,x509_subject,max_questions,max_updates,max_connections,max_user_connections) values ('localhost','root',PASSWORD('yourpassword'),'Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','',null,null,null,0,0,0,0);

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by: scorpius78Posted on 2009-10-11 at 05:17:43ID: 25545678

I tried two command lines below but got error messages back. In the last command line I removed "'Event_priv" from the command line since it complained about it in the one you suggested.

Is it possible that this somehow is related to some other service, like qmail, dnscache, tinydns or BIND which I also have installed on this machine. It's a machine I use for laboratory exercises mainly, so it's very much possible that some of these services are not correctly configured. For instance, when I run "dnsname" or "dnsip" I get no output at all. But if these services for sure are not related to my mysql problem, we don't have to discuss them here.

mysql> insert into user(Host,User,Password,Select_priv,Insert_priv,Update_priv,Delete_priv,Create_priv,Drop_priv,Reload_priv,Shutdown_priv,Process_priv,File_priv,Grant_priv,References_priv,Index_priv,Alter_priv,Show_db_priv,Super_priv,Create_tmp_table_priv,Lock_tables_priv,Execute_priv,Repl_slave_priv,Repl_client_priv,Create_view_priv,Show_view_priv,Create_routine_priv,Alter_routine_priv,Create_user_priv,Event_priv,Trigger_priv,ssl_type,ssl_cipher,x509_issuer,x509_subject,max_questions,max_updates,max_connections,max_user_connections) values ('localhost','root',PASSWORD('123456'),'Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','',null,null,null,0,0,0,0);
 
ERROR 1054 (42S22): Unknown column 'Event_priv' in 'field list'
 
 
mysql> insert into user(Host,User,Password,Select_priv,Insert_priv,Update_priv,Delete_priv,Create_priv,Drop_priv,Reload_priv,Shutdown_priv,Process_priv,File_priv,Grant_priv,References_priv,Index_priv,Alter_priv,Show_db_priv,Super_priv,Create_tmp_table_priv,Lock_tables_priv,Execute_priv,Repl_slave_priv,Repl_client_priv,Create_view_priv,Show_view_priv,Create_routine_priv,Alter_routine_priv,Create_user_priv,Trigger_priv,ssl_type,ssl_cipher,x509_issuer,x509_subject,max_questions,max_updates,max_connections,max_user_connections) values ('localhost','root',PASSWORD('123456'),'Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','',null,null,null,0,0,0,0);
 
ERROR 1136 (21S01): Column count doesn't match value count at row 1

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by: leakim971Posted on 2009-10-11 at 05:22:22ID: 25545687

Second Script (you remove Event_priv) remove an 'Y' too.

by: scorpius78Posted on 2009-10-11 at 06:08:08ID: 25545788

leakim971:

Got it! Your command line exactly didn't do it but you lead me onto the right track. I tried to remove an 'Y' but then it complained about "Trigger_priv" instead, so I removed that too and another 'Y'. Then it said that "ssl_cipher" can't be NULL, so I changed that value to ''. Then it complained about x509_issuer which also where NULL so I changed it to '' and finally it complained about x509_subject being NULL so I changed that to '' too. AND THEN IT WORKED!! After restarting mysql I tried to create a database and a table - AND IT WORKED! Damn I'm happy about this! Thank you so very much!!

But I can't really stop thinking about the names and the values I removed/changed though. I guess they mean something and it would be sad if it had effect on my databases functionality later on. Maybe you've got an idea about this too?

by: leakim971Posted on 2009-10-11 at 06:32:38ID: 25545856

No points ? lol
Depends your mysql.user structure table, I give you a simple (ID:25545559) and a full (ID:25545597).

If you post result from "select * from mysql.user" I should help you

by: scorpius78Posted on 2009-10-11 at 06:52:13ID: 25545902

Below are the results from "select * from mysql.user;".

Doesn't assisted solution give points too? I don't mean to be greedy. ;)

mysql> select * from mysql.user;
+-----------+------------------+-------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-----------+-------------+---------------+--------------+-----------+------------+-----------------+------------+------------+--------------+------------+-----------------------+------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------------+------------------+----------------+---------------------+--------------------+------------------+----------+------------+-------------+--------------+---------------+-------------+-----------------+----------------------+
| Host      | User             | Password                                  | Select_priv | Insert_priv | Update_priv | Delete_priv | Create_priv | Drop_priv | Reload_priv | Shutdown_priv | Process_priv | File_priv | Grant_priv | References_priv | Index_priv | Alter_priv | Show_db_priv | Super_priv | Create_tmp_table_priv | Lock_tables_priv | Execute_priv | Repl_slave_priv | Repl_client_priv | Create_view_priv | Show_view_priv | Create_routine_priv | Alter_routine_priv | Create_user_priv | ssl_type | ssl_cipher | x509_issuer | x509_subject | max_questions | max_updates | max_connections | max_user_connections |
+-----------+------------------+-------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-----------+-------------+---------------+--------------+-----------+------------+-----------------+------------+------------+--------------+------------+-----------------------+------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------------+------------------+----------------+---------------------+--------------------+------------------+----------+------------+-------------+--------------+---------------+-------------+-----------------+----------------------+
| localhost | debian-sys-maint | *842BA733F10EF1658E24590A2D4DF44E1EF48A72 | Y           | Y           | Y           | Y           | Y           | Y         | Y           | Y             | Y            | Y         | Y          | Y               | Y          | Y          | Y            | Y          | Y                     | Y                | Y            | Y               | Y                | N                | N              | N                   | N                  | N                |          |            |             |              |             0 |           0 |               0 |                    0 |
| localhost | root             | *6BB4837EB74329105EE4568DDA7DC67ED2CA2AD9 | Y           | Y           | Y           | Y           | Y           | Y         | Y           | Y             | Y            | Y         | Y          | Y               | Y          | Y          | Y            | Y          | Y                     | Y                | Y            | Y               | Y                | Y                | Y              | Y                   | Y                  | Y                |          |            |             |              |             0 |           0 |               0 |                    0 |
+-----------+------------------+-------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-----------+-------------+---------------+--------------+-----------+------------+-----------------+------------+------------+--------------+------------+-----------------------+------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------------+------------------+----------------+---------------------+--------------------+------------------+----------+------------+-------------+--------------+---------------+-------------+-----------------+----------------------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)

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by: leakim971Posted on 2009-10-11 at 06:57:48ID: 25545916

Your root account is OK.
You can see an other user with different credentials.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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mysql root password recovery doesn't work

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