🔐 How I Recovered My MySQL Root Password on Windows (MySQL 8.0) — Step by Step

Source: Dev.to

Overview

Losing your MySQL root password can feel like the end of the world — especially when you’re a student or a fresher and MySQL just refuses to connect. I recently faced this exact issue on Windows + MySQL 8.0, spent hours getting errors like:

ERROR 2003 (HY000): Can't connect to MySQL server on 'localhost:3306'

After a lot of trial and error, I finally fixed it without losing any data. Here’s the exact method that worked 100 % for me.

Problem Summary

• OS: Windows 10/11
• MySQL Version: 8.0.x
• Issue: Forgot MySQL root password; MySQL service wouldn’t allow login.
• Tried: --skip-grant-tables method kept failing.

The Solution That Actually Worked (Init File Method)

This method is safe, official, and works even when other methods fail.

Step 1: Stop MySQL Service

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc and hit Enter.
2. Locate MySQL80 (or the service name for your installation).
3. Right‑click → Stop.

Step 2: Create a Password Reset File

1. Open Notepad.
2. Paste the following SQL:

ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost'
IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password
BY 'TempPass@123';

3. Save the file as reset.sql (make sure the extension is .sql, not .txt) in:

C:\Users\<your‑username>\Documents\

Step 3: Start MySQL Using the Init File

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:

cd "C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\bin"

Then start MySQL with the init file:

mysqld --init-file="C:\Users\<your‑username>\Documents\reset.sql" --datadir="C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\Data"

What Should Happen

• The terminal appears “stuck” (no prompt).
• No errors are shown.
• MySQL server is running, meaning the password reset command was executed successfully.

Step 4: Stop the Temporary Server

Press Ctrl + C in the terminal to terminate the process, then close the window.

Step 5: Start MySQL Normally

1. Open services.msc again.
2. Start MySQL80.

Step 6: Login with the New Password

mysql -u root -p

Enter the password you set in reset.sql (TempPass@123). You should see:

Welcome to the MySQL monitor

Step 7 (Important): Set Your Own Secure Password

Inside the MySQL monitor, run:

ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost'
IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password
BY 'YourOwnStrongPassword@123';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Cleanup (Optional but Recommended)

Delete the reset file you created:

del "C:\Users\<your‑username>\Documents\reset.sql"

Common Mistakes I Made (So You Don’t)

• Trying to connect when the MySQL server wasn’t running.
• Using the wrong datadir.
• Forgetting to adjust Windows file permissions.
• Assuming a “stuck” terminal meant an error (it actually indicates success).

Final Thoughts

• If you’re stuck with MySQL root access on Windows: don’t panic, don’t reinstall MySQL, and don’t delete data.
• The init‑file method is the most reliable fix I’ve found.

If this helped you, feel free to share it—it might save someone hours of frustration.