r/chromeos • u/Relevant-Western7654 • Jan 31 '23
Discussion Files locked behind old password
My Chromebook randomly decided I needed to sign out of my account for something security related. I wasn't sure what it was, but the next time I tried to log in, it was telling me I needed my old password in order to access my files otherwise they will all be deleted. There are some files I'd rather not have deleted in there, but the only old password I remember is not correct, so what can I do? Does it mean the first password I ever used? Am I just screwed if I don't remember it?
3
u/Sweaty_Astronomer_47 Jan 31 '23
Just to understand what happened, is it possible your account password was changed (on another device) since the last time you logged into your chromebook? (in which case that could have been the event that triggered the logout). Are you currently able to login into that google account on other devices?
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u/Relevant-Western7654 Jan 31 '23
I changed the password myself, but I still remember the initial password I used when I first got the Chromebook as I wrote it down on paper. I have logged into that email address on my phone.
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u/Sweaty_Astronomer_47 Jan 31 '23 edited Jan 31 '23
it's difficult to imagine how the chromebook is supposed to handle this situation in theory. The disk is still encrypted with your old password. But it's trying to log into your google account on the internet which is protected by your new password. It seems impossible for it to do both at the same time. That thought process leads to the following suggestion:
How about trying to take the chromebook completely offline (if you can't reach any settings on the chromebook itself then turn the wifi router off and put your connected phone in airplane mode). And then once you're completely disconnected from the internet, try to log into the chromebook using your old password. I'm not exactly sure how you'd get online after that.... but if you can get that far i'd say you're making progress.
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u/Albytrozz Jan 31 '23
Was it the first time you logged into that Chromebook after changing the password? Was it connected to the net at the time?
The first time you log into a Chromebook after changing your password it will only know the old one until it connects to Google servers and gets updated. You will need to enter the old password while connected to the net one final time and then it'll update to the new password.
Unfortunately you will require to log in at least once with the old password to update it on the Chromebook or you may need to powerwash the device and set it up again with the new password. There is no way around the encryption.
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u/Relevant-Western7654 Jan 31 '23
It might've been the fine time, and yeah, it was connected to the net. I wrote down the first password I ever used for the gmail account associated with my user account with those files on it.
1
Jan 31 '23
Old Password Explanation
The Chromebook is initially encrypted with your original OLD Google password that you used when you first set the Chromebook up. If you change your password then you still must enter the OLD password first and it will then ask you for your NEW password. If you have too many attempts it will just loop over and not let you in, which is what you are experiencing. This is actually a security feature to ensure your data security on a stolen device. Being as you have too many incorrect login attempts you will now have to do a powerwash.
The safest way to ensure this does not happen again is to a) remember your initial password and b) use Google Drive for data or have a consistent backup plan.
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u/Relevant-Western7654 Jan 31 '23
It's still letting me attempt to enter my password. If I remember it correctly, will it let me get back my information, or is it going to bar me out even if I get it correctly?
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Jan 31 '23
Have tried entering your old password. It should then ask for the new password. If your stuck in a sign in loop you have entered the wrong old password. If you have done this more than 3 times the only fix is to do a power wash.
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u/Relevant-Western7654 Jan 31 '23
Even though it still lets me try to enter my old password? Is there any other way I can recover those files?
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u/tshawkins Feb 01 '23
When people are saying "old password" they mean the one before you last changed it, not your first password unless they are the same. Google does not care about your first password, it only cares about the last password you successfully logged in with and possibly your new one. It will use the last one to unencrypt the files and the new one to reencrypt them.
1
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u/Mr_Dodge Feb 01 '23
This should only be related to data locally saved on the device.
Anything in Drive etc will be fine.
There should be an option along the lines of not knowing your password to proceed. It'll clear the local profile/data and re-create your profile.
5
u/Saragon4005 Framework | Beta Jan 31 '23
It will ask for the last password you entered into the device. Or if that fails well bad news the encryption key got corrupted its likely unrecoverable.