| I received a donated laptop computer several months ago and have no contact information for the gentleman who programmed it. He chose a gnome desktop for me, because it is easy to use, and mostly, I have found it so, except for one problem. He forgot to give me the root and admin passwords for it, and they are required for a number of important things I need to do. I don't know how much information you need, in order to help me, as I have no expertise in these matters. But here is a list of the main programming on the computer: Debian GNU Grub 1.98-1 Gnome 2.30.0 Iceweasel browser 3.5.9 Build identifier: Mozilla /5.0 (XII; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.9.1.9) Gecko /20100501 Iceweasel/ 3.5.9 (like Firefox/ 3.5.9) Because I don't have the admin and root passwords, I am unable to configure anything, which means I often cannot use the Iceweasel browser. A lot of wireless networks are not configured for it, and I am unable to do this procedure myself. I also cannot install anything, including any of the updates that are available. All installations require an admin password. I cannot even correct the time on the computer's clock. This requires the root password. A friend advised replacing the entire programming. He lent me an Ubuntu disc. But I could not get the computer to read the disc, because I did not have the admin password. I looked at the listing of files on my computer and found that Ubuntu is already installed, though I cannot find a way to use it. I don't necessarily dislike the programming that I have. But I need to be able to, at least, configure internet networks, run updates, and install things. Is there a way to bypass the demand for the root and admin passwords? I appreciate any assistance you can give me. |