ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'user'@'localhost'

Question

I'm trying to log into MySQL on a remote server. I have ssh-ed into the server, and I am trying to access the server's local MySQL db.

I got the login credentials from the config file of a local application

mysql -u user -p

but when I login using the same password, I get

ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'user'@'localhost' 

Details:

username: user
password: password
table   : table_name
host    : localhost

I have tried the same password a few times, but there must be something other than an incorrect password. I'm very confused, what am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

1. get root privileges.

   sudo bash

2. stop mysql server -- ubuntu example

   service mysql stop

3. open mysql without checking passwords -- ubuntu example

   /usr/bin/mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables &

4. log in as root

   mysql --user=root mysql

5. Enable privileges

   flush privileges;

6. Change the password and grant any access you might need

   update user set Password=PASSWORD('password') WHERE User='username';

   GRANT ALL ON table_name.* TO 'username'@'localhost' ;

   flush privileges;

   exit ;

7. Exit safe mode and restart

   kill cat /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.pid

   service mysql start