AIX: Recovering From an Unknown Root Password

User entered root password with ergonomics keyboard in install_assist after installing operating system and password is not what user entered on the keyboard. So he does not know what the root password is.
Switch server key to the maintenance mode with the AIX installation CD and boot into maintenance mode or do a hard reset. Then access the rootvg from the CD and start a shell. You can modify the "/etc/security/passwd" file with vi by removing the encrypted password after the "=", leave the rest of the information intact and save the file.

The root section of the passwd file should look similar to this:

root:
password =
lastupdate =
flags =

Before you shut down the server, type:

sync; sync; sync

and press return.

To restart the server, press the reset button and move the key to the normal mode.
Published Date: Feb 18, 2012