I have installed MySQL server 5 on redhat linux. I can't login as root so I can't change the root password.
mysql -u root -p
Enter password: <blank>
ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost'
(using password: NO)
When I try to set one like this:
mysqladmin -u root password 'newpass'
I get an error:
mysqladmin: connect to server at 'localhost' failed
error: 'Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost'
(using password: NO)'
As if there is a root password set.
I have also tried resetting the password using (described here)
/sbin/service mysqld start --skip-grant-tables
And then making:
mysql> UPDATE mysql.user SET Password=PASSWORD('newpass')
-> WHERE User='root';
ERROR 1142 (42000): UPDATE command denied to user ''@'localhost' for table 'user'
I even uninstalled mysql-server (using yum) and then reinstalled it but that did not help.
How do I force reset the root password?
One option is to save UPDATE mysql.user SET Password=PASSWORD('newpass') WHERE User='root';
into a file and then manually start mysqld
with --init-file=FILENAME
. Once the server starts, it should reset your password, and then you should be able to log in. After this, you should shut down the server and start it normally.