[Mediawiki-l] Re: resetting the sysop password

[Jan Steinman]

On 9 Feb 2005, at 09:58, Jason Davies wrote:

>> I'd go edit the database table directly. it should not be too tricky
>> if you have phpmyadmin installed.
>
> I'm snarled up with territorial issues on accessing stuff (ie the
> directories in which the database is stored) so i'm not even sure I can
> do this myself!

You don't access a database through directories!

If it's MySQL, I agree that phpMyAdmin is a great (albeit a bit geeky) 
tool. If you're on MacOS X, I recommend CocoaMySQL. If you're on 
Windoze, I'm sure there are freeware/shareware MySQL graphical clients 
you can use.

Once you have access to your MediaWiki database, go to the mw_user 
table, clear the user_password field, press the SQL tab to enter the 
following code (from memory, double check fieldnames, etc.):

   UPDATE mw_user SET user_newpassword MD5(CONCAT('WikiSysop-', 
MD5('temppassword'))) WHERE user_name = 'WikiSysop'

Thanks to Brion for starting me down that path a few days ago. I used 
that technique to set a common initial password for 83 users that were 
loaded directly into the mw_user table. (These are unsophisticated 
users who will have enough trouble typing their name and the common 
password into the login screen, let alone creating their own accounts. 
Plus, I wanted consistent user names to make future maintenance easier. 
I know we'd end up with "Bob", "Bob1", "Bob2" as well as other 
meaningless handles.)

If you are not using MySQL, Your Mileage May Differ.

But you "own" your database. Your ISP or parent organization SHOULD 
give you access to it somehow, even though I agree they should NOT give 
you access to the database directories.

Another approach once you have access to the database: put in an email 
address for the user, then go back to MediaWiki and press the "mail be 
a password" button.

:::: Beware of the military-industrial complex. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
:::: Jan Steinman <http://www.Bytesmiths.com>