Using chroot to Recover root Passwords

Introduction

The problem: there's a system that's been collecting dust on my shelf for some time now. I've come to realize, unfortunately, that I no longer remember the password for this machine. Rather than reinstall the system, I used an much easier method utilizing chroot.

The easiest way to achieve this purpose is with the use of a LiveCD.

Selecting a LiveCD

There's no need for a LiveCD with a graphical interface, or a full package selection. All that's needed is a shell, and chroot's dependencies.

In my preference, I've selected Gentoo's 2008.0_beta2 LiveCD. Despite being a beta, the shell and utilities work without an issue and I'll get one of the latest kernels, 2.6.24.