systemd is now used to look after mySQL instead of mysqld_safe (which is why you get the -bash: mysqld_safe: command not found error - it’s not installed)
The user table structure has changed.
Stop mysql:
systemctl stop mysqld
Set the mySQL environment option
systemctl set-environment MYSQLD_OPTS=”–skip-grant-tables”
Start mysql usig the options you just set
systemctl start mysqld
Login as root
mysql -u root
Update the root user password with these mysql commands
mysql> UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string = PASSWORD(‘MyNewPassword’)
-> WHERE User = ‘root’ AND Host = ‘localhost’;
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
mysql> quit
Stop mysql
systemctl stop mysqld
Unset the mySQL envitroment option so it starts normally next time
systemctl unset-environment MYSQLD_OPTS
Start mysql normally:
systemctl start mysqld
Try to login using your new password:
mysql -u root -p
Reference
Note
As of MySQL 5.7.6, for MySQL installation using an RPM distribution, server startup and shutdown is managed by systemd on several Linux platforms. On these platforms, mysqld_safe is no longer installed because it is unnecessary. For more information, see Section 2.5.10, “Managing MySQL Server with systemd”.Which takes you to http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/server-management-using-systemd.html where it mentions the systemctl set-environment MYSQLD_OPTS= towards the bottom of the page