sudo service mysql stop
sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables --skip-syslog --skip-networking
then run mysql in a new terminal
mysql -u root
and run the following query, after changing the password
UPDATE mysql.user SET Password=PASSWORD('password') WHERE User='root';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
quit the mysql safe mode and start mysql service by
mysqladmin shutdown
sudo service mysql start
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10895163/how-to-find-out-the-mysql-root-password