HELP PLS

[STEFANOS_20]

I'm first step linuxnewbie .Me and a friend
managed to install the Mandrake 8.1 on the
F partition of the HD.Stupied us cant get in
now,when comes to localhost login....we dont
remember user... and password...
On C: partition is installed XP Pro .There
I could see all 4 partitions of my HD after installing Mandrake 8.1 an hour ago I dont
see F: partition no more.
How can I get in Mandrake if it's still posible? If not how can it be uninstalled
without harming the rest of my HD and its
contents?
Thanks a lot in advance!!! :( :( :( :eek: :eek:

[jetblackz]

Did you make a bootdisc during install? Boot it up.

The easiest way for a newbie to try out Linux is to install it on a system as the only OS. I see many newbies going the hard way: XP, Linux, etc. etc. It's doable, but difficult.

[mdwatts]

You will not see the Linux partitions from within XP and Linux does not use drive/partition designators such as C:. D: etc.

If you JUST installed Mandrake and have forgotten all the userid's and passwords, did you try logging in as root? If you can, then use that to reset the passwords for the users.

[SpinyNorman]

WattsMD is correct in the fact that no version of Windows will "see" your Linux partition, as Win doesn't recognize Linux filesytems (ext2, ext3, reiserfs, etc.).

Try this (assuming you've installed lilo or grub as your bootloader):
At the "BOOT:" prompt, type the name of the label which usually boots you into Linux, followed by the word "single". For instance: on my dual-boot Mandrake/Win box, I boot into Linux by selecting "vmlinuz-2.4.3-20mdk" (no quotese) at the lilo boot screen. Instead, type: "vmlinuz-2.4.3-20mdk single". This should boot into Linux, but put you into single-user mode, which is essentially root, without asking for a password. It is also a little like Windows "safe mode" in terms of the fact that the system is started in a minimun configuration, where non-essential services are turned off, and all of your fileystems may not be mounted.

If you can get to this point, take WattsMD's advice in terms of the username/password modifications. Typing: passwd username will prompt you to enter a new password for the given user username.

Repost if you have more questions-

[ 19 March 2002: Message edited by: SpinyNorman ]