11-08-2008, 07:59 PM

Hey guys my sister just sent me her old macbook pro since she got a new air, and I didn't use it for a while and didn't bother asking her for the password, now no one knows the password and she can't find the cd to reboot the computer. I talked to alot of computer repair people and most don't know how to reset the computer to factory settings without the cd. Any help would be appreciated!

11-08-2008, 10:14 PM

Try this:

Reboot the computer.

Hold down command+s after the chime.

At the prompt enter the following. Hit return after each line.
mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown -h now

When you reboot you will get the Apple setup, just as you would after a fresh install. Create a new account and Just delete the old one.

11-08-2008, 10:42 PM

Thanks buddy, I'll give it a try asap and let you know what happens. Greatly appreciated!

11-09-2008, 12:37 AM

Worked perfect, didn't think it could be that easy, wow. Thanks alot, I'm completely new to macs but from just playing around it looks way better than vista. How would I find out my ram, hard drive space, model, etc?

11-09-2008, 01:09 AM

No problem.

Apple menu in top left corner, About This Mac. That will show your processor and RAM. For more info click on More Info.

09-02-2010, 04:10 PM

Would this method be able to just reset one account on the MacBook and leave the rest alone? because I forgot my password for my family MacBook. Also would it delete the applications on that account if I was to use taht method or would all my applications still be there?

09-02-2010, 06:32 PM

Yes. And no, it should not delete any applications. Make sure you know what you're doing before trying the method above.

03-06-2011, 02:50 PM

i am trying to do this, but i realize my enter key does not work. how do i approach this problem...and i dont have a usb keyboard around now, so i can try that yet.

01-10-2012, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by ADKhikerVW

Try this:

Reboot the computer.

Hold down command+s after the chime.

At the prompt enter the following. Hit return after each line.
mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown -h now

When you reboot you will get the Apple setup, just as you would after a fresh install. Create a new account and Just delete the old one.

This also works on 2008 White MacBooks - I just used it on mine. Thank you so much!

01-12-2012, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by ADKhikerVW

Try this:

Reboot the computer.

Hold down command+s after the chime.

At the prompt enter the following. Hit return after each line.
mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown -h now

When you reboot you will get the Apple setup, just as you would after a fresh install. Create a new account and Just delete the old one.

I tried that but when i finished nothing happend

03-02-2013, 08:33 AM

I just (10 minutes ago) used these command to reset my new MBP (bought it second-hand) and it worked great, thanks alot for the help!