mysql root permission denied

Hi everyone. After a clean 8.1 install I do: mysql_install_db (no errors) then /usr/bin/mysqladmin -u root password 'new-password' /usr/bin/mysqladmin: connect to server at 'localhost' failed error: 'Access denied for user: 'root@localhost' (Using password: NO)' I've deleted /var/lib/mysql/mysql contents and reinstalled the rpm. The mysql manual is OK but I'm not sure how I can create the root account properly. I know it's been up before but finding it is really hard! Thanks, Steve.