mysql server root password recovery
From thelinuxwiki
Stop MySQL
# sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop
start mysql in Safe mode
# mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables &
Login as root
# mysql -uroot
Reset Password
mysql> use mysql; mysql> update user set password=PASSWORD("mynewpassword") where User='root'; mysql> flush privileges; mysql> quit
Restart
# killall mysqld # /etc/init.d/mysql start
start and stop commands may vary depending on Linux distro