Localhost phpmyadmin access denied

Hello,
This morning I just wanted to back up my clone sites on my computer. I went in through localhost/phpmyadmin, and I was prompted to add a password to the root account. I selected "generate" and suddenly I'm denied access. Can someone please help me with regaining control of my sites, and recommending if I do need a password, and if so, how to do it without this happening. Thank you so much.