According to my reference, 'PHP and MySQL Web Development', after making 
and installing mysql:
# scripts/mysql_install_db
# cd /usr/local/mysql/bin
# ./safe_mysqld &
# ./mysqladmin - u root password 'new-password'

You may have to kill mysqld, or you might get a way with just the last 
command to set the root password- it's been a while since I installed 
mysql but these are the steps took.

On 6 Jun 2002, Craig White wrote:

> dummy me - I started the mysqld without a password and now I can't log
> in to make changes and set up users. How can I log in without a
> password? It won't let me log in without a password but there never was
> any - it's a new installation.
> 
> Craig
> 
> 
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Patrick Fleming, EA
http://myhdvest.com/patrickfleming
Licensed to represent taxpayers
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