I have a Lenovo Think pad that runs on Linux. I was introduced to Linux only a short time ago, installed by a "computer literate" person. Yesterday I changed my password, but have since used this password to gain access. This morning, however, when I typed my password in, the initial response said, " the wrong password" Retyping the password and hitting, "enter";- the password disappears and I'm left with an empty box and an obsolete machine. There is no option to enter as a guest. The reason I mentioned how long ago I had it installed on my machine is to emphasize the fact, any responses/replies to my question need to be formatted in very basic laymen's terminology, please.
I have searched through similar questions in hopes to find a resolution, however, I propose that my question is very specific and won't be here long enough to cop the embarrassing fall out. One thing I noticed on a similar question, the user typed, control, alt, f2. I tried this on the assumption that my login is my email address. But still, nothing. I read another answer, which discusses, boot loader, grub, and dirty stuff? Again, I have no idea what that means.
So, I have a laptop that I cannot access. I have some disks; Fedora, Ubuntu Studio 16.04.2 64 bit, Ubuntu 16.10 32 bit, Ubuntu 17.04, Darricks Boot and Nuke.
I do believe the current installation is Ubuntu Studio 16.04.2
If someone could give me some options on what steps I take to getting into my machine, I would be most grateful indeed. Ultimately, I would really need live support, due to arrogance in knowledge, but if I can at least have initial instructions and a reference to a link that gives me instructions on using any of the mentioned discs on hand, I may be able to do this.
1 Answer
You'll need access to another computer with a working Linux or Windows operating system. Use that system to download a suitable Ubuntu (I recommend 16.04 LTS, with either MATE or LXDE -- the latter called Xubuntu). Use a suitable utility to burn the downloaded .iso file to either a DVD or a USB flash drive (which utility to use depends critically on what OS you're working in).
Once you have the USB or DVD, you need to start your target computer from it. With many computers, you can press F11 to access a menu and select the boot drive during the early part of startup (before GRUB appears, if it's still working). Select your USB or DVD device, and let the machine boot. If you just want to install, select "Install Ubuntu" when offered the choice of that or "Try Ubuntu" -- and you'll be on your way.
I would strongly recommend, however, that you use the "Try Ubuntu" option first to try to salvage any stored information from the /home partition on the target machine -- copy those files to another storage device (a different USB drive, for instance), so you can go through them and find anything you want to keep. The default Ubuntu installation process will delete all those files, so do this before you install.
Ideally, you could get some help from the "computer literate" person who installed Ubuntu for you -- it's very possible that the problem with your system is relatively minor and can be fixed without a reinstall; even if that's not the case, a knowledgable helper can help you learn, help you save your files, and help ensure you wind up with a working OS on the first try.
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