Enabling the root user for the vSphere Management Assistant

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VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

This article provides steps to enable the root user for the vSphere Management Assistant (vMA).

VMware vSphere Management Assistant 4.1
VMware vSphere Management Assistant 5.5
VMware vSphere Management Assistant 4.0.x

To enable the root account in vMA:

Log in to vMA as the vi-admin user.
Run this command to open the passwd file:

sudo vi /etc/passwd

Note: For information on using vi, see the vi man pages.

Note: The preceding link was correct as of August 18, 2014. If you find the link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
Locate the entry similar to:

root:x:0:0:root:/root:/sbin/nologin
Change this entry to:

root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
Save and close the file.
Log out from vMA and log in again as the vi-admin user.
Run this command and enter the new root password:

sudo passwd root

You should now be able to log in to vMA using the root account.

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