[nmglug] dude, wheres my password?

[Ed Brown]

Here's one more suggestion, 'cause I think it's simpler than anything
suggested so far, though perhaps only by a little.  And it doesn't
require a rescue cd.   

Just replace 'init=/bin/bash' in Karl's suggestion with 'single', or
even '1', to boot into single user mode. You'll get your root prompt
without having to login.   You don't have to mount or remount anything. 
Just run passwd, and type exit, and you'll go straight to your default
runlevel, without having to reboot.

-Ed