Reset Root password (MySQL)

From ben.goodacre.name/tech

If the root password for a MySQL server is lost, unknown or cannot be recovered it can be reset so long as you have root (Linux) or Local/Domain Admin (Windows) access on the MySQL server.

Procedure

1. Locate your my.conf file - the MySQL configuration file. On Linux it is normally /etc/mysql/my.cnf and it can be located through typing locate my.cnf depnding on what distro you have.
2. Stop the MySQL server: /etc/init.d/mysql stop
3. Edit the my.cnf file and place the following line after the [mysqld] section:

   skip-grant-tables

4. Start the MySQL server: /etc/init.d/mysql start
5. Now you can connect without a password; all grant commands will not work though. Type the following:
   $ mysql -u root
mysql> use mysql;
mysql> update mysql.user set Password=password('newpassword') where User='root';

6. Stop the MySQL server: /etc/init.d/mysql stop
7. Remove or comment-out the skip-grant-tables line.
8. Start the MySQL server: /etc/init.d/mysql start