I finally gave up and reflashed and then followed the steps in ( http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...2&postcount=22) john the ripper didn't even take one second but what surprised me was it was the same password I knew and had been trying to key in.. I was stuck for two days so there is absolutely no way I typed it wrong every single time so the question is, does it get locked after n number of tries. I had flashed the rootfs fully and then had to apply the backup but installing applications all over was a pain.. was wondering if just flashing the kernel helps remove the screen lock at boot up, and does flashing only kernel mean that applications remain intact ?

Allan: Your password is 21138532

Loaded 1 password hash (Traditional DES [24/32 4K])
21138532 (root)
guesses: 1 time: 0:00:04:20 c/s: 326549 trying: 21138249 - 21138441

It took more than 4 minutes to crack whereas my five digit code was broken under a second so it might just be taking time depending on your processing speed.. hope that helps..

--Vijay