I knew I had had seen this somewhere:
Q: How can I re-enable my root account when I typed in my password wrong 3 times and the account got disabled?
A: When your HP-UX system is in the more secure "trusted system" mode, your account is automatically disabled after
you have entered your password incorrectly 3 times in a row. At this point, even if you enter the correct password,
you will not be allowed access into the account.
There are a few options to re-enable the account:
* If you have access to the system console you can login using the root account from the console (this will automatically
re-enable the account). Even when the account is disabled, login from the console will be allowed by default.
* If you have another root account on the system, you can login using that account and reset the disabled user account using SAM.
To re-enable a disabled user account on the system using SAM:
1. Select the �Accounts for users and groups� section.
2. Select �users.�
3. Select the user account that is disabled.
4. With the disabled user account selected, go to the top of the screen and select �Actions.�
5. Select �Reactivate� to reactivate the disabled account.
While I was looking for the above information, I found this announcement: HP-UX security features supercede trusted mode. So I'm not sure how much longer the tip on re-enabling the root account will be useful. But I will this thread into our FAQ on recovering root passwords anyway. (Yes, I know the this "3 strikes and you're out" business isn't exactly a lost root password.)