Partioned cloned to newer computer

Hi

Ask in the Linux Mint forums (https://forums.linuxmint.com/).

Linux Mint does not really do/have a "root" account.

But an internet search offers............

Quick GRUB-based method (most common)

1. Reboot and hold Shift to show the GRUB menu.​

2. Highlight your normal Linux Mint entry and press e to edit.​

3. Find the line that starts with linux and move to the end of that line; after quiet splash add:
   rw init=/bin/bash (leave spaces around it).​

4. Press Ctrl+X or F10 to boot with the modified options; you will land at a root shell prompt root@...#.​

5. At the prompt, set the root password:
   passwd root

   • Enter a new password twice when prompted; you should see “password updated successfully”.​

6. Reboot cleanly with:
   exec /sbin/reboot (or Ctrl+Alt+Del if that works).​

After that, root is enabled and you can use su - with the new password, or continue using sudo as usual.​

Alternative: Live USB + chroot (if system won’t boot)

1. Boot from a Linux Mint (or other Linux) live USB and open a terminal.​

2. Identify and mount your Mint root partition, for example:
   sudo mount /dev/sdXY /mnt (replace with your actual root partition).​

3. Change root into the installed system:
   sudo chroot /mnt.​

4. Reset the root password:
   passwd root and enter a new password twice.​

5. Type exit then sudo reboot and boot from the disk as normal.​

Notes / gotchas

• On Mint the recommended way to administer the system is via sudo, not root logins; enabling root is optional and slightly reduces security.​

• If you only need to fix a regular user password (not root), use the same GRUB or chroot methods but run passwd yourusername instead.​

If you say what state the box is in (bootable, encrypted disk, UEFI vs BIOS) a more tailored step‑by‑step can be given.

@anne_droid :

   Instead of risking bricking my Micro with arcane (to me) cmds, I've decided to just rebuild the LMDE6 partition from a fresh install.

May take a few days but more safer :-).

Many thanks for your advice and support.

  JC Allen

PS: My next new box will surely be a Dell Micro.