Step 1 - Stop mysql service # /etc/init.d/mysql stop You should see something like this Stopping MySQL database server: mysqld. Step 2 - Start MySQL server with out password # mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables & You can also run service mysql start --skip-grant-tables You should see something like this Starting MySQL.. SUCCESS! Step 3 - Connect to mysql server using root user # mysql -u root You will see something like this Welcome to the MariaDB monitor. Commands end with ; or \g. Your MariaDB connection id is 4 Server version: 5.1.55-MariaDB-mariadb98 (MariaDB - http://mariadb.com/) This software comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This is free software, and you are welcome to modify and redistribute it under the GPL v2 license Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement. MariaDB [(none)]> Step 4 - Set up new MySQL password for the root user MariaDB [(none)]> use mysql; MariaDB [mysql]> update user set password=PASSWORD("9nji77~") where User='root'; MariaDB [mysql]> flush privileges; MariaDB [mysql]> quit Step 5 - Stop MySQL Server # /etc/init.d/mysql stop You should see something like this Stopping MySQL database server: mysqld. Step 6 - Start MySQL Server and test