forgot password

[okkie]

my daughter has 12.04 lts installed on her laptop but never used it and forgot her password.
I now want to install 14.04.1 on her laptop and get her going again on Ubuntu.
Laptop will not read 14.04 iso disk and we cannot get into 12.04 without a password.Deleting entire hard disk will be fine.
Instructions pse.

[westie457]

Try resetting the password. http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/resetpassword

Then you should be able to upgrade.

[ian-weisser]

Laptop will not read 14.04 iso disk

That's unusual. I would tackle that first.
Is is a DVD issue? Does the DVD boot in other machines?
Is it a machine issue? Bad DVD player?

Or, perhaps, are you trying to read a DVD with the wrong architecture (x386 vs AMD)? That's a very common error.

[okkie]

it is a dvd and Iused it to install on my computer.
I notice that the sources list is completely screwed, that might be the problem.
the dvd is amd64, how do I know if a Dell Inspiration 1501 can take it?

[ian-weisser]

it is a dvd and Iused it to install on my computer.

Okay, so the DVD apparently worked in the past.

I notice that the sources list is completely screwed, that might be the problem.

Please explain this. I don't understand.
You also just wrote that the DVD likely works.
Why do you think the sources are related to the problem?

the dvd is amd64, how do I know if a Dell Inspiration 1501 can take it?

You look for the little 'Intel' or 'AMD' sticker by the keyboard.
Or you look on the manufacturer website. Or any reseller website.
A quick Google check of the model number...and you seem to be using the correct architecture.


So back to the DVD:
You wrote: "Laptop will not read 14.04 iso disk"
Please explain exactly what happens when the failure occurs.
What works properly before the failure?
What's on the screen when the failure occurs?

[okkie]

Between the two of you I managed to mount the install dvd, installed the system and everything is going well.
Thanks for your assistance.

PROBLEM SOLVED