Technical guide on resetting a lost or forgotten root password for your Hovixa VPS using the SolusVM 2 control panel. Learn the automated reset process and manual VNC alternatives.

Resetting the Root Password Using the SolusVM 2 Control Panel

Losing access to the root user is a critical roadblock for server administration. While Hovixa encourages the use of SSH keys for security, the SolusVM 2 control panel (vm.hovixa.com) provides an automated mechanism to reset the root password of your Virtual Private Server without requiring existing terminal access.

1. Before You Begin: The Reset Mechanism

The automated reset tool works by injecting a new password into the guest filesystem via the hypervisor. For this to succeed, your VPS must have QEMU Guest Agent installed and running. If the agent is missing, the panel may fail to sync the new password, requiring a manual reset via Rescue Mode.

2. Executing the Automated Reset

1. Log in to vm.hovixa.com.
2. Select the Virtual Machine you need to access.
3. Click on the Password or Reset Password tab in the management menu.
4. Enter a new, complex password that meets entropy requirements (minimum 12 characters, including symbols and numbers).
5. Click Change Password.

3. Finalizing the Change (Reboot)

In most KVM environments, the password change is not applied to the active kernel session immediately. To ensure the new credentials are written to the /etc/shadow file of the guest OS:

• Perform an ACPI Shutdown and then Start the VM.
• Alternatively, use the Reboot button within the portal.

4. Manual Reset via VNC (If Automation Fails)

If the automated tool fails due to a missing guest agent or a locked filesystem, you can use the HTML5 VNC Console to reset the password manually at boot:

1. Open the VNC Console and reboot the VM.
2. At the GRUB boot menu, press e to edit the boot entry.
3. Find the line starting with linux and append rw init=/bin/bash to the end.
4. Press Ctrl+X to boot. You will be dropped into a root shell.
5. Run passwd root, enter your new password, and then reboot normally.

5. Technical Implementation Details

• Security Note: Changing your root password in the portal does not automatically update your stored SSH keys. If you have "Password Authentication" disabled in your sshd_config, you will still be unable to log in via SSH even after a reset; you must use VNC to re-enable password access.
• Password Sync: The portal only "knows" the password it generated during deployment. If you change your password manually via the passwd command in Linux, the portal's records will not be updated.

Sysadmin Advice: After regaining access, verify your /var/log/auth.log (Ubuntu/Debian) or /var/log/secure (RHEL/Alma) to ensure the account wasn't compromised, which is a common reason for "lost" passwords.