On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 21:21:40 -0700, Samuel Sieb wrote:
On 4/16/19 9:08 AM, Beartooth wrote:
Last week, for instance, I managed to so foo a brand new laptop that anything I did on the login screen killed it. (I'd've tried a repair if I'd been able to remember how to boot straight into single user, or find out again how. I spent a few days trying, and then just put the install disc back into it. <sigh>)
Add "single" to the kernel command line. You will need the root password.
Remember, the minute I typed my password at the login screen, I lost all electronic contact. No response to mouse nor keyboard. The machine eventually displayed an error message, and sometimes after another long interval a second error message. But that was all.
I'd've tried to use those messages -- I had an inkling what to do and how -- but I'd've had to do it *before* the machine got to the login display. Iirc, that used to be doable, and I think some kind soul walked me-on-another-PC through doing it on a problem PC, long ago.
Of course the ability's existence was one thing that meant no machine that a bad guy could get to physically could be secure; lots of other things in life have that problem. <shrug>
I *believe* that, IF (big if) I could get the machine to boot from a live medium, I'd've been able -- somehow -- to use that live OS to mount the hard drive, and edit its grub.conf or something. But I never really knew how to do the mount.