The Acer Guy

You want comments? We got comments:

1. Morris Lee wrote, on November 27th, 2008:

   

   Nice write up, I am going to dual boot my aspire one with Vista and linpus during this weekend, this way I can continue help you guys out.

2. Roger wrote, on November 28th, 2008:

   

   Hi … I really thought that this had solved a problem with my wifes machine and thanks for it anyway but when I type in : sudo -su I get “please use single character options” – any thoughts please ? Best regards Roger

3. Owen wrote, on November 28th, 2008:

   

   I had ’single character options’ as well. Worked fine with sudo -s

4. Roger wrote, on November 29th, 2008:

   

   Thanks Owen … but sorry I don’t know what I’m doing really, I’m starting to get into areas that freak me out a bit, may I explain … my wife (it’s her Acer) is sure she never entered a password when she first set the machine up, and if she did she can’t remember it, she wants me to load some realplayer software and it seems it requires a password … is this the ‘root’ password referred to above ? When I go into setup the Supervisor, User and HDD passwords are all “Clear” … I don’t want to brick the thing (they reckon Acer want an arm and a leg to reset them) ! Thanks for your time Roger

5. Morris Lee wrote, on November 29th, 2008:

   

   Guys, try using the su command to enter root user, so, in terminal, enter su then press enter, then type in “passwd” then press enter again, this should prompt you for a new password for root user.

6. Roger wrote, on December 1st, 2008:

   

   Thanks Morris, that did it for me … regards Roger

7. Richard wrote, on December 12th, 2008:

   

   hey – I tried what you guy’s are saying but all I get is
   password:

   and it stops – i can’t type any thing – and if i push enter again it says incorrect password
   any ideas?

8. Michael Walsh wrote, on December 13th, 2008:

   

   Richard,

   There’s a part of the article above that says “It will now prompt you to enter your new root password (Just type it – you won’t see anything appear but it’s registering it).”

   Basically it seems like nothing is happening but it’s registering your password anyway. You type it in and push enter. It should accept it.

9. Lacers wrote, on December 17th, 2008:

   

   I took me a couple of tries to figure out the whole “you won’t see anything appear but it’s registering it” part, but I am so glad to have been able to set a new root authentication password. Thanks!

10. nigelbobclark wrote, on December 17th, 2008:

    

    Worked a treat, thanks very much for taking your time to publish your help.

11. Jez wrote, on December 30th, 2008:

    

    Thank you very much, Michael.
    I encountered several errors while creating a new password as it says that it should be of different characters, or that my chosen pw is a dictionary word. Nevertheless, if one will retype the pw when asked to, it will be changed to your desired pw regardless of such ‘error messages’.

12. J.Schneider wrote, on January 5th, 2009:

    

    Interesting web page. My new Acer Aspire One
    moedl gz5 running XP works great, fast comfortable, great for travel.
    My only problem was setting it up as a dual boot
    XP & Ubuntu Linux. Under Linux everything worked
    except the wireless card. Even Skyoe with the built in camera went well. After looking around I found the wireless problem with Linux was pretty wide spread. FOund the soultion via
    Madwifi. took a little work but wireless now works well under Ubuntu.
    All in all I am very impressed with the Aspire One

13. Kjell wrote, on January 11th, 2009:

    

    Thanks Lee, finally got the password reset. Synopsis;
    Files-My Documents-File-Terminal pu passwd “your new password” “re-enter new password” DONE!!!!!

14. leelee wrote, on January 12th, 2009:

    

    Thanks was trying to install software – the password I originally set was not valid but was accepted. Used SU and passwd to reset and it worked – new password has to be complete gobbledygook so make sure you write it down. Had tried every variation of my password possible and had given up hope.

15. David F wrote, on January 12th, 2009:

    

    I also thought that the password had to be gobbledygook but discovered the prompt ‘that the password is based on a dictionary word’ is only an observation. If you type the same password again it is accepted.

16. Steve P wrote, on January 14th, 2009:

    

    Have tried the above method to reset the root password and it keeps saying that passwd is the incorrect password

    any ideas?

17. Morris Lee wrote, on January 15th, 2009:

    

    try using the su (so instead of sudo -su)command to enter root user, so, in terminal, enter su then press enter, then type in “passwd” then press enter again, this should prompt you for a new password for root user.

18. oconel wrote, on January 15th, 2009:

    

    Is the root password the same as the password you can change in the settings menu? I’ve set a password in the terminal (and works fine there) but if I try to change it on the settings menu the laptop says it’s not correct.

19. Ruby wrote, on January 18th, 2009:

    

    im hating this system day 3 and still no skype,
    type su in terminal comes up password type in my new password does not move the black dot as if registering the password press enter does not seem to register, Then says incorrect su. [user@localhost ~]$ su
    Password:
    [root@localhost user]# cabarete
    bash: cabarete: command not found
    [root@localhost user]#
    Help please, why is this so hard to use i regret the day i ever discovered linux. im going mad with frustration and have wasted hours of my life trying to do a simple thing like download skype.

20. Morris Lee wrote, on January 18th, 2009:

    

    @Ruby,

    The cursor is NOT suppose to move when you enter a new password, once you have done entering the password, press enter.

21. Ruby wrote, on January 18th, 2009:

    

    i get the same as Richard, he explains it better than me

    hey – I tried what you guy’s are saying but all I get is
    password:

    and it stops – i can’t type any thing – and if i push enter again it says incorrect password
    any ideas?

22. Ruby wrote, on January 18th, 2009:

    

    ok so now i have tried this system, terminal, su enter comes up password. so i type password. comes up with this i’ve copied and pasted this [user@localhost ~]$ su
    Password:
    su: incorrect password
    [user@localhost ~]$
    then i tried the above and when it says password, i type the new password i want, and it comes up with this
    [user@localhost ~]$ su
    Password:
    [root@localhost user]# – what do i put hear please.?

23. Ruby wrote, on January 18th, 2009:

    

    Reading some other comments i did this and got this terminal – su passwd

    [user@localhost Documents]$ su passwd
    su: user passwd does not exist
    [user@localhost Documents]$

    i do remember being asked to choose a password when i first turned on the acer, but dont remember it.

24. Ruby wrote, on January 18th, 2009:

    

    sorry to harp on but some more thoughts, set up password when i first turned the computer on but did not set up the bios password or is it the same thing. also what is the supervisor password is this the same thing i first entered when i first turned on the acer. I don’t understand as i am not asked for any password when i turn on the computer. so i downloaded skype from fedora then go to system, add/remove programmes the it come up with You are attempting to run “pirut” which requires administrative privileges, but more information is needed in order to do so. authenticating as root password. Then some random ……….. appear where i would put the password when i flicked back to this page and back to screen a different no of dots appears. it gives me the option of ok or cancel, and i’m scarred to press ok. where are this dots coming from they change between screen changes. Any help appreciated.

25. Morris Lee wrote, on January 18th, 2009:

    

    @Ruby,

    when you get the “password:” prompt, you ENTER your desired password, while entering the new password, the cursor WILL NOT MOVE, it may seem that you can’t type anything BUT YOU ARE. once you have finished entering the password, press enter

26. Ruby wrote, on January 23rd, 2009:

    

    yep did that and pressed enter now says [root@localhost user]# what do i put now or is my password now set?

27. Morris Lee wrote, on January 24th, 2009:

    

    @Ruby,

    Yes, if no error came up, the password should now been reset.

28. Frenchie wrote, on January 26th, 2009:

    

    HI guys,

    firstly many thanks for all of this, it’s been seriously helpful. one thing though, and Ruby mentioned it – my Aspire is an ex display model so I have no idea what the initial password was, therefore I can’t change it. I have reset the root password, so I’m cool there.

    Does the user password actually matter or indeed do anything except allow you to lock the screen from the quit menu?

    In other words, do I really need to worry about that fact that I don’t know it?

    Thanks again

    F

29. Morris Lee wrote, on January 26th, 2009:

    

    @Frenchie,

    yes, i think you can lock the screen with the same password, but you can always use the recovery disk to restore it to factory, then you can still setup your password there

30. Frenchie wrote, on January 26th, 2009:

    

    Thanks Morris

31. French Beginner wrote, on March 1st, 2009:

    

    Hi!

    As i just tried, it seems that only this following method works fine in any situation (AND ITS A BAD LACK OF SECURITY) :
    1) Open a terminal usinf F2 then typing “terminal” (without quotes) then .
    2) Type :
    sudo passwd
    at “New UNIX password :”, answer the new root password you want to get . Nothing is showed on screen.
    3)
    at “Retype new UNIX password :”, retype the preceding password you choosed.
    4) You get back the prompt.
    5) type exit

    Bye.

32. JYE wrote, on March 12th, 2009:

    

    I OWN A ACER AND HAVE HAD PROBS WITH SKYPE FOR LINUX…I HAVE INSTALLED THIS NOW THO THANKS TO THIS FORUMS HELP AND ADVICE YESTERDAY 11TH MARCH 2009. yES I TOO HAVE MOVED OVER FROM MICROSOFT AND AM A NEWBY TO LINUX… THE 1 PROB I STILL HAVE NOW THO IS WHEN I GO INTO SKYPE FROM THE DESKTOP ICON…IT ALL WORKS FINE AND I CAN CHAT AND VIEW OTHERS WEB CAM IMAGE…BUT THEY CANNOT SEE ME…MY CAM WORKS FINE BUT NOT ON SKYPE…WHAT DO I NEED TO DO? THE IMAGE BOX COMES UP AND MY FRIEND SAYS ON THE OTHER END IT IS LOADING…BUT THEY CANNOT VIEW ME….. PLEASE HELP GUYS….WEB CAM IN SKYPE NOT WORKING…WHAT DO I DO?
    KIND REGARDS FOR HELP INSTALLING SKYPE…IT WORKED A TREAT
    LOVE AND RESPECT
    JYE

33. mullmo wrote, on March 15th, 2009:

    

    I used this tip to reset a password OK

    BUT I had to TYPE sudo su NOT sudo -su

    Note the space between sudo and su

    many thanks

    Brian Mulholland

34. Delboy wrote, on March 17th, 2009:

    

    Excellent stuff, worked after reading all of the posts here. Once you get the hand of it, its quite easy really…..,

35. MissP wrote, on March 21st, 2009:

    

    Thanks for the advice. I was about to smash the netbook up in frustration

36. leigh wrote, on May 7th, 2009:

    

    i have been trying to use you directions to reset my root password, i typrd su, the passwd, then it says (current) UNIX password: is this asking for the password that i have forgotten? when i type in a new password for this it comes up with – passwd: Authentication token manipulation error

    Can someone tell me where i am going wrong please!!!

37. edi wrote, on May 13th, 2009:

    

    please help me. I have acer aspire one ZG5 linux.i want chnage language deutsch to english.

38. Morris Lee wrote, on May 15th, 2009:

    

    @edi,

    http://www.theacerguy.com/2009/01/aspire-one-linux-question/

39. IrishMJ wrote, on June 6th, 2009:

    

    Bloody genius, thanks. I had to use the suggestion by Morris to reset the password, but I got it!

40. carlo wrote, on June 20th, 2009:

    

    hi guys, i tried doing all this and reset the password, now when i try to type it in it wont accept it, i also tried it in uppercase and when i try alt f10 all’s i get is a black screen with a cross for a pointer! I tried to press f2 but the password comes on too quick at the beginning, any ideas guys?

41. Morris Lee wrote, on June 21st, 2009:

    

    @carlo,

    http://www.theacerguy.com/2008/11/how-to-reset-the-root-password-on-an-aspire-one-linux/

42. carlo wrote, on June 22nd, 2009:

    

    still no joy, is there anywhere you recommend that i could send it to, to be repaired?

43. Morris Lee wrote, on June 23rd, 2009:

    

    @carlo,

    do you have the recovery disk? if not, you can always torrent the disk image, use unetbootin and copy the recovery files to a flash drive. This is all done on another PC with windows or linux.

44. john wrote, on July 1st, 2009:

    

    hi
    done all this and it let me change the password but when i type in the password i put in at the supervisor password prompt its not right password help

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