Changing the Administrator or Root User password
If you have created a new VM from template, or are unsure of a VMs Administrator or root password, then this guide will describe how to change a VMs password using the VMWare Guest Customization tools.
Please note that this method requires restarting the VM in question to force re-customization.
Within your Virtual Data Center environment, in the Virtual Machines Page, locate the VM that you are attempting to change the password for, and click Details.
Within the details of the VM, go to Guest OS Customization and click Edit.
Within the specify password field, input the desired new password for either the Administrator or Root user.
Requirements for resetting credentials
The following options will need to be ticked:
General → Enable Guest Customization
Password Reset → Allow Local Administrator Password
If Password Reset → Auto Generate Password is ticked, it will not allow you to specify a password, so this will need to be disabled.
Go ahead and Power Off the VM:
To make the credential reset occur, Power On, Force Recustomization needs to be selected as shown:
Once it finishes booting back up, your Administrator, or Root user login will be changed to what you set in the Specify Password field.