Derived from: http://blog.dotkam.com/2007/04/10/mysql-reset-lost-root-password/
Here is a quick Step-by-Step “how to” which helps restoring MariaDB (MySQL) root password that was lost/forgotten.
1: Stop MariaDB (MySQL) daemon if it is currently running
Depending on the operating system MySQL is installed on, the daemon can be checked/stopped differently. Here is an example on how to do it in Unix-like systems.
NOTE: You might need to run it as a Unix System superuser (root) - depending on how the system is configured, and what permissions your Unix account is granted)
Here is how to stop/kill the existing MariaDB (mysql) daemon, in case it is running:
systemctl stop mariadb
2: Run MySQL safe daemon with skipping grant tables
mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables &
3: Login to MySQL as root with no password
mysql -u root mysql
4: Run UPDATE query to reset the root password
In the MySQL command line prompt issue the following two commands:
UPDATE user SET password=PASSWORD("<a new password>") WHERE user="root";
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
5: Stop and Restart the MariaDB daemon
systemctl stop mariadb (this will terminate the mysqld_safe executed in step 2 above)
systemctl start mariadb