forgot admin password and no recovery mode appears

Hi scott,

The key to reveal Grub menu (so you can select "recovery mode") is Shift , not esc.
Try to hold SHIFT key until grub menu appears and then follow the instructions here
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/resetpassword

BUT,
if you have set a ROOT password and you also forgot it , then you cannot do much. Re-install is the easiest way.
Yes there is a way to bypass this situation also , but is difficult and I do not recommend it.

The easiest way is to boot from a Live CD/USB of Ubuntu , copy your important files to an external HDD and re-install Ubuntu.

Regards
 NikTh

shift is not working to open recovery,and esc shows other info but not what im looking for. the only password forgotten was my admin ; so now i can't up date or install.

never mind on the shift not working ,got that.guess im not sure of my username cause when i go threw the steps it says user not found or what not..but as far as i can tell you put me on the right path.
   THANKS, nick

ls /home

Shows your usernames

Hi scott,
the link I gave mentions how to find your username if you don't remember it.

Glad you solved it.

Regards
 NikTh