How can I recover my username and reset my password on Linux Mint?

October 23, 2025 4 answers
Asked by TechieTurtle42
I'm having trouble with my hidden username feature on my Linux Mint desktop login. I thought I remembered it correctly, but the system says it's wrong. I only changed the username visibility on the login screen and now I can't access my account. Can someone guide me on how to find my username and reset my password?

Answers

CommandLineNinja
There aren't prompts, just commands you need to use. If you know your password but can't remember your username, boot into a live environment and check the home directories on your drive. Thatโ€™s an easy way to find your username.
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SystemSleuth98
To access your username, restart your machine. For older BIOS systems, hold the key during boot, or repeatedly hit for UEFI systems to reach the grub menu. Look for an option like 'advanced boot' to access a root shell. You can list all user accounts with `cat /etc/passwd`. Just remember that user accounts are case-sensitive!
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GadgetGuru99
You can check your username by logging into any account and looking in the `/etc/passwd` file. If you can't log in at all, try using a USB live distro to mount your system partition and access that file directly. To change your password, you'll need root access and use the command `passwd `.
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ResolvedRanger23
I figured it out! I used the command `ls /home` and found my username there. Luckily, my password was the same as before.
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