iMac - dont have admin password or install discs.

neelu6683 · neelu6683 #1 (**permalink**)

06-03-2009, 01:09 PM

Hi,

i was at a auction house today and came across and imac. it's a 20" G5 powerPC with 1.8GHz Bluetooth and 1.8GHz CPU speed, 600MHz Bus speed. 2GB memory. 250 GB Hard drive. (i have no idea if thats good or bad- someone enlighten me please.) so in the excitement of it all, i ended up buying this machine for $390NZ ($250USD). i thought this machine would be nice addition to my apple collection.

Except silly impulsive me, i didn't bother to check if it had any admin restrictions such as a master password running. which it does. The machine came with no discs, booklets or anything other than the basic unit.
So now i can't update any software, make any changes as i do not know the administrator password. And safari keeps asking for a keychain password too.

What plan of action can i take to remove this current password issue? i am happy to spend a little money if it means i can run this iMac more easily.

I'm also happy to hear of the technical ways to solve this issue, just bare in mind that i'm hopeless with machines and you will need to explain in great detail the steps i will need to take.

It is currently running tiger 10.4.10 and i was wondering if it would be wise to upgrade to leopard or even snow leopard (if it ever gets here). i don't mind spending the money as my macbook is running on tiger still also and i'd love to upgrade both at the same time. If i were to purchase a new OS X and erase and install on the imac, would i need the password to do so? will it solve my problems?

i did some research and most forums say that with a second hand machine its always best to wipe clean and start from scratch which sounds wise to me.

would love to hear anything anyone has to say on the topic.

thanx in advance

Mr Macintosh · Mr Macintosh #2 (**permalink**)

06-03-2009, 02:06 PM

Firstly, yes it is worth upgrading, but in my opinion, wait till Snow Leopard's out, then upgrade. And as for the actual Mac, try making a new Admin account, deleting the old account and starting from scratch.

Regards.

D3v1L80Y · D3v1L80Y #3 (**permalink**)

06-03-2009, 02:11 PM

NOTE: Not a Desktop Hardware issue. Moving to Software forum.

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iMac - dont have admin password or install discs.

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neelu6683 #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 03, 2009 Location: NZ/Australia Posts: 1 Mac Specs: Imac and macbook running tiger	06-03-2009, 01:09 PM Hi, i was at a auction house today and came across and imac. it's a 20" G5 powerPC with 1.8GHz Bluetooth and 1.8GHz CPU speed, 600MHz Bus speed. 2GB memory. 250 GB Hard drive. (i have no idea if thats good or bad- someone enlighten me please.) so in the excitement of it all, i ended up buying this machine for $390NZ ($250USD). i thought this machine would be nice addition to my apple collection. Except silly impulsive me, i didn't bother to check if it had any admin restrictions such as a master password running. which it does. The machine came with no discs, booklets or anything other than the basic unit. So now i can't update any software, make any changes as i do not know the administrator password. And safari keeps asking for a keychain password too. What plan of action can i take to remove this current password issue? i am happy to spend a little money if it means i can run this iMac more easily. I'm also happy to hear of the technical ways to solve this issue, just bare in mind that i'm hopeless with machines and you will need to explain in great detail the steps i will need to take. It is currently running tiger 10.4.10 and i was wondering if it would be wise to upgrade to leopard or even snow leopard (if it ever gets here). i don't mind spending the money as my macbook is running on tiger still also and i'd love to upgrade both at the same time. If i were to purchase a new OS X and erase and install on the imac, would i need the password to do so? will it solve my problems? i did some research and most forums say that with a second hand machine its always best to wipe clean and start from scratch which sounds wise to me. would love to hear anything anyone has to say on the topic. thanx in advance
	QUOTE Thanks

Mr Macintosh #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Mar 03, 2009 Posts: 211 Mac Specs: New iMac 20" Leopard vs. 10.5.7	06-03-2009, 02:06 PM Firstly, yes it is worth upgrading, but in my opinion, wait till Snow Leopard's out, then upgrade. And as for the actual Mac, try making a new Admin account, deleting the old account and starting from scratch. Regards.
	QUOTE Thanks

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