How to change the appliance root password

To change the password on your Hyper-V or VMWare virtual appliance with your installation of OpenVPN Access Server:

  1. Sign in to the terminal with root privileges.
  2. Type passwd and press enter.
  3. Enter your new password and press enter.
  4. Re-enter your new password and press enter.
  5. (optional) Type exit to sign out.

If you have lost access to your Hyper-V or VMWare virtual appliance for your installation of OpenVPN Access Server because you need to change the password, follow these steps:

  1. Reboot the server.
  2. Hold the shift key down and wait for the blue GRUB boot loader screen to display.
  3. Press “E.”
  4. Find the line that starts with linux and at the end of it add: rw init=/bin/bash
  5. Press ctrl+X and wait for the server to boot.
  6. Type passwd and press enter.
  7. Enter your new password and press enter.
  8. Re-enter your new password and press enter.
  9. Reboot the server.

If you are using a cloud image like on Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and so on, you will need to consult their documentation.