How to Reset Root Password in VMware vCenter Appliance

Let’s consider how to reset a forgotten root password on the deployed VMware vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA). We remind that vCSA is a ready virtual machine with an installed Linux OS and configured vCenter Server and additional services. Since a VM vCenter Appliance is built on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, our task is to reset a root password in Linux.

So to force root pasword change (reset) on vCSA (in this example vCenter Appliance 5.5 is used), do the following:

1. Restart vCSA virtual machine from vSphere Client
2. When GRUB window appears, press SPACE to prevent startup.
3. Press P to display boot settings
4. Enter GRUB password  

   Note:

   • If vCSA has been installed without changing the password using Virtual Appliance Management Interface (VAMI), the default GRUB password is vmware.
   • If the vCSA password has been reset using VAMI, the GRUB password corresponds to the one set in VAMI.
5. Using arrow keys, select VMware vCenter Server Appliance in the menu and press E to go to boot parameters
6. Select the entry with kernel boot parameters (kernel)
7. Press E to edit the boot parameters
8. Add init=/bin/bash to the kernel boot parameters
9. Press Enter, then the GRUB menu appears
10. Press B to boot the system
11. In the shell window, change the root password using the command passwd root.
12. Restart vCSA with reboot command.