Cannot change root password - PC-BSD Forums

z662 · #1 02-26-2010, 02:24 AM

After install of PcBSD 8.0 I was unable to use 'sudo' because it would not accept my password. To change it I rebooted into single user mode and mounted all the partitions. I then typed 'passwd' and after entering the root password I got the following error: "pam_chauthtok(): error in service module" Does anyone know what this is about? Id imagine it involes the PAM module, however I do not know how to fix it. Any help would be appreciate, thanks.

Fatmice · #2 02-26-2010, 02:32 AM

What you did was drastic, drastic I tell you. I think I know the problem. You didn't setup permission in sudoer. You must modify the sudoers file under

Code:

/usr/PCBSD/local/etc/sudoers

. Please refer to sudo man pages for detailed instructions.

Good luck.

z662 · #3 02-26-2010, 01:21 PM

Unfortunately its not quite that simple. I am already in the sudoers file and what I did I dont think was drastic because I needed to change the root password regardless, or at least elevate privileges in some way or another to manipulate system files and install apps etc. and 'su root' would not accept my root password to begin with either. Anyhow, there is no reason why I shouldnt be able to change the root password in single user mode. I have googled the error message and it seems that the pam module needed to be restarted, as others have found. Here is one instance of this, in case someone runs into a similar problem. http://fixunix.com/bsd/380899-password- ... odule.html There are a few other posts on the FreeBSD forums as well pertaining to this issue.

Fatmice · #4 02-26-2010, 06:55 PM

Okay, lets start over then.

Can you do a console login? (Ctrl+Alt+F2 to get to a console and login, Ctrl+Alt+F9 will return you to your KDE session).

z662 · #5 02-27-2010, 01:48 AM

Yeah that works fine. I have resolved the issue of not being able to change my password but my primary problem is still lingering. Let me explain better this time. My username is in the sudoers file, I am able to use my password to login, and can login as root via single user mode or by switching to console via ctrl + atl + f2, when logged in as root via terminal I can change passwords of any user. I can also use the sudo command in the terminal, however I CANNOT escalate privileges in KDE via graphical prompt (update manager etc.) or by using sudo on the CLI. This worked perfectly fine for me when using 8.0 RC1, I now have installed 8.0 Release and not modified any config files other than the sudoers file by adding my username and minor things like adding hostname to rc.conf etc. I am unsure of why KDE seems to be preventing my privilege escalation (so it appears to me), perhaps I need to modify a config file regarding KDE or X, perhaps even bash??? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

z662 · #6 02-27-2010, 04:20 AM

I just realized that this is all because my caps lock key does not work in KDE, my rc.conf has dbus and hald enabled, I cannot get it to enable the caps lock key. Any idea on how to enable it?

Fatmice · #7 02-27-2010, 05:00 AM

Unfortunately that's a tough one.

You need to narrow it down to whether it is due to your keyboard or to the subsystem Hal/Dbus. Do you have a PS/2 keyboard? If not get a 50 cent one and see if the problem goes away.

Check out xorg.conf and see it the keyboard configuration, is it the same as before you update?

Your pam_chauthtok(): error in service module is a different beast...I don't see how that's related to your keyboard problem...

Why would you need caps lock anyway?