root@214679:/# stop mysql
mysql stop/waiting
root@214679:/# ps aux | grep sql
root     25247  0.0  0.0   7620   920 pts/1    S+   13:08   0:00 grep --color=auto sql
root@214679:/# mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables &
[1] 25251
root@214679:/# 110526 13:08:47 mysqld_safe Logging to syslog.
110526 13:08:47 mysqld_safe Starting mysqld daemon with databases from /var/lib/mysql
mysql -u root
Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 1
Server version: 5.1.41-3ubuntu12.6 (Ubuntu)

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

mysql> use mysql;
Reading table information for completion of table and column names
You can turn off this feature to get a quicker startup with -A

mysql> update user set password=PASSWORD('simple') where User='root';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
Rows matched: 0  Changed: 0  Warnings: 0

mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)