Regular Fixes to Linux

If you're like me, and you rarely use Linux, you tend to forget your password as well as other little windows interface fixes that are required quite often.

I hope this blog post is as useful to others as it has been to me. The following instructions are a combination of Linux Tips and Tricks and Brandon's Solution:

Linux Passwords

Lost Password? Dont Fret! Check This Out:

Switch on your computer, and as soon as you can, strike the Esc key on your keyboard to display GRUB menu (assuming it doesnt already take you to this menu on boot-up);

Highlight and select the recovery mode;

Your distro will boot into a recovery shell; 

Select the command prompt as root, then type:

user@pc:~$ passwd user

Where the user is your username; Choose, enter and confirm a new password when prompted.

If this doesnt work, I have a solution. Its not because you typed it in wrong. Its because the File System is mounted in Read Only mode which prevents resetting the password.

You'll have to change it over to be Read/Write Mode. Heres how to do that:

Choosing the option to remount / as read/write and going back into the root shell prompt enables the password change.

The command to run prior to changing the password is:

user@pc:~$ mount -rw -o remount /

Try again with the password change:

user@pc:~$ passwd user

Where the user is your username; Choose, enter and confirm a new password when prompted.

Restart your machine:

user@pc:~$ reboot

and take a deep breath.

XFace GUI

Next I have an issue with my XFace GUI where my Maximize, Minimize and Close buttons all disappear and the window title bar is missing. Its very annoying, since you cant close any of your windows, and you can end up punching your screen in frustration. Here is a temporary solution for that [credit to The Ubunt2 Forums]:

Click on the Application Menu to Execute a Program.

Type in 

xfwm4 &

and hit [Execute]. This should resolve your problems.