So in theory I haven't locked my root or broken anything to go into recovery mode if I was to re-flash the sd card. So perhaps it's something different>For troubleshooting purposes, may I suggest focussing on the recommended and supported Raspberry Pi Operating System - RasPiOS.
Seconded.
@OP:
The only time I've seen "the root account is locked" is when the boot fails and drops into recovery mode. Which prompts you to login as root, which you can't do as root has no password.
In my experience, this is most often caused by a broken entry in /etc/fstab or having the wrong root= in cmdline.txt. Neither of which are likely if you have just flashed a fresh image to SD card.
There are other possibilities though.
Provide the following:
- Step by step instructions to reproduce the reported behaviour (no "flash SD card and boot" is not enough).
- Which OS is this and which named release of it? (e.g. Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye, Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm, etc.)
- What you are actually using for boot media. I've assumed SD card but that isn't the only way to boot a 4B
- What you're using for a PSU. If it isn't the official one, how many amps is it rated for? (No, just a wattage rating is not enough)
- Exactly what you are seeing on screen before that message. Post a screen shot if necessary but don't reduce it in size so it is unreadable.
If you're seeing the splash screen and little to no text, try editing cmdline.txt, remove quiet and replace splash with nosplash
To re-produce the issue I just install Raspberry Pi Os 64 bit, try use the setup wizard and when it goes into the reboot section it never reboots. No matter how long I use. In the 32 bit version thats where it kept mentioning the root.
Raspberry Pi Os 64 & 32 bit.
I've only used a micro sd card at the moment, I shall test a USB now.
I've tried an official and un-official power supply, both gave the same results.
In the 64 bit I just see the default background when it tries to reboot. 32 bit being something about the root. I'll try provide a screenshot but it may be a little difficult.
Statistics: Posted by Jackyjack1249 — Sat May 03, 2025 7:17 pm