If you have set a root password, but forgot what it was, you can set a new password with the following procedure:

1. Take down the mysqld server by sending a kill (not kill-9) to the mysqld server. The pid is stored in a `.pid' file, which is normally in the MySQL database directory:

shell> kill `cat /mysql-data-directory/hostname.pid`

You must be either the Unix root user or the same user mysqld runs as to do this.

2. Restart mysqld with the --skip-grant-tables option.

3. Set a new password with the mysqladmin password command:

shell> mysqladmin -u root password 'mynewpassword'

4. Now you can either stop mysqld and restart it normally, or just load the privilege tables with:

shell> mysqladmin -h hostname flush-privileges

5. After this, you should be able to connect using the new password.

Alternatively, you can set the new password using the mysql client:

1. Take down and restart mysqld with the --skip-grant-tables option as described above.

2. Connect to the mysqld server with:

shell> mysql -u root mysql

3. Issue the following commands in the mysql client:

mysql> UPDATE user SET Password=PASSWORD('mynewpassword') WHERE User='root';

mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

4. After this, you should be able to connect using the new password.

5. You can now stop mysqld and restart it normally.

1. Kill the server (kill -9 mysqld, you will probably need to log in as OS

user 'root').

2. Start the server with the option skip-grant-tables, e. g.

mysqld --skip-grant-tables.

3. Connect to the server using MySQL Monitor, the command line tool: shell>

mysql (You can connect without username/password.)

4. On the SQL command line, do: GRANT ALL ON *.* TO 'superuser'@'localhost'

IDENTIFIED BY 'iwillremember' WITH GRANT OPTION;

5. Exit MySQL Monitor.

6. On the shell, do: mysqladmin -usuperuser -piwillremember shutdown

7. On the shell, do: mysqld (to start the server again)

Now, this new 'superuser' can create accounts for regular users.