I’ve install Ubuntu 24 on my Framework 13 laptop and set it up so I can login with my fingerprint. Recently I wanted to install some software, but for that I need my password which I don’t remember. There are a lot of articles on the internet that explain you can reset that by going to Ubuntu recovery mode, but I have problems doing that.
I tried holding the Escape key during startup while “Framework” is being displayed or directly after that but every time I go to the grub command-line, not the grub menu. I’ve read that could be because the Escape key is pressed too often, but tapping it one or twice during or shortly after “Framework” is being displayed doesn’t work as the OS is started up.
I also tried setting a timeout of 10 seconds in the bios but that doesn’t seem to help either.
Do I need to do something different to get the grub menu? Or is it possible to start the grub menu from the grub command line?
Thank you for your response. The article I read told me to use either the shift-key, or (for UEFI bios) use Escape. I tried shift to be sure and that didn’t do anything. When I entered the bios setup it said something about UEFI bios so I tried Escape next and that gave me the grub command-line.
Seems like your problem is a forgotten password for a non-privileged user. That same user (login id) has successfully enrolled a fingerprint. That user can use their fingerprint to log in to a desktop environment (DE).
Assuming for expediency that is a fair summary of your situation, you could open a shell session from the DE and use it to reset the forgotten password. For example:
$ sudo passwd someuser
Place your right index finger on the fingerprint reader
New password:
Retype new password:
passwd: password updated successfully
In case it’s not obvious, the passwd(1) command does not output any indication that characters are being read. When prompted, you type your intended password and press the enter key.
Thank you for your answer. The password recovery is actually for my own account which has administrative privileges. I tried your suggestion and ran sudo passwd <my_username> in a terminal, but I was asked to enter my password and the touchscreen didn’t work. I think the fingerprint only works to login.
I’m probably more disappointed than you are. There’s other approaches you can take. I could talk you through booting a Live! linux, mounting your root partition and grafting a password hash over the one you’ve forgotten. However that will probably take several back-and-forth postings.
If you’re impatient, recovery mode (whatever that is ;- ) or re-installation are things you can manage on your own.
When I mention the SHIFT key to get to grub menu. It’s not like the other keys where you repeat press/release them to get into the bios. For the grub menu, just keep the SHIFT key down after power on.
Your offer to help is much appreciated, but it’s not necessary any more. I fixed the problem. There is a second account with administrative privileges on the laptop and after a few tries we managed to find the correct password for that, so I used this account to reset the password for my own account.
I am still curious though how to boot to Ubuntu recovery mode, in case I ever need it again. On my old laptop it’s quite easy so I find it strange that it’s so difficult on the Framework 13 laptop.
Yes, thank you. I tried several things, first with the left shift key and later also with the right shift key in case that matters. I tried keeping it down the entire time during startup and also pressing it repeatedly during startup. In all cases no effect, so that’s why I suspect I need to use a different key. The Escape key seems to most likely candidate since that is also mentioned on the internet and because that did at least do something when I tried that (although not exactly what I wanted).