upgraded to 11.10 wont accept password

Could you try the following and see if it works?
1) Reboot Ubuntu. As soon as the GRUB menu appears, choose to boot Ubuntu in Rescue mode (use the arrow keys to highlight the choice and press Enter to select it).
2) Let Ubuntu boot. It will show you a menu with various choices; choose to "open a shell with root privileges".
3) Type the following command:
passwd username
replacing "username" with your user name.
4) Type a new password, press Enter, type the password again to confirm it and press Enter again.
5) Type "telinit 2" to open the usual graphical login.

Sorry no. I thought I had no password see screenshot in attachment

Regards Mike

On 4 November 2011 15:41, Alessandro Menti
<email address hidden> wrote:
> Your question #177496 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/177496
>
>    Status: Open => Answered
>
> Alessandro Menti proposed the following answer:
> Could you try the following and see if it works?
> 1) Reboot Ubuntu. As soon as the GRUB menu appears, choose to boot Ubuntu in Rescue mode (use the arrow keys to highlight the choice and press Enter to select it).
> 2) Let Ubuntu boot. It will show you a menu with various choices; choose to "open a shell with root privileges".
> 3) Type the following command:
> passwd username
> replacing "username" with your user name.
> 4) Type a new password, press Enter, type the password again to confirm it and press Enter again.
> 5) Type "telinit 2" to open the usual graphical login.
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/177496/+confirm?answer_id=0
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/177496
>
> You received this question notification because you asked the question.
>

--
Kind Regards

Mike Barber

Sorry, it seems Launchpad does not allow attachments in the Answers section - could you please upload the screenshot to a site like ImageShack and give me the link, please?

The main user account needs a password otherwise there is no security. I'm not sure if its possible to set the main user account to have no password but if it is I would not recommend it.

To reset your password see here:

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/resetpassword

Don't know how to do that. The screenshot just showed that in the user
details the password was shown as none

regards mike

On Friday, 4 November 2011, Alessandro Menti <
<email address hidden>> wrote:
> Your question #177496 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/177496
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> Alessandro Menti requested more information:
> Sorry, it seems Launchpad does not allow attachments in the Answers
> section - could you please upload the screenshot to a site like
> ImageShack and give me the link, please?
>
> --
> To answer this request for more information, you can either reply to
> this email or enter your reply at the following page:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/177496
>
> You received this question notification because you asked the question.
>

--
Kind Regards

Mike Barber

OK, I've understood what your problem is. Currently, Ubuntu does not allow any user using an empty password to perform actions that require administrative authentication (like downloading or upgrading packages). We are already aware of the problem (see bug #882255) and are working on a fix.

In the meantime, the only suitable workaround is choosing a non-empty password for your user account. Follow the instructions on the link that Warren gave you to be able to reset your password.