12-02-2010, 08:30 AM

Hello All:

Recent Mac convert trying to navigate some of the back office issues ... after surviving a couple weekends of newbie anxiety in my switch to all things Mac, I tried to change/coordinate all of my passwords and, in the process, lost my admin password. Here are the specifics ...

* Brand new iMac with OSX 10.6 installed
* I have the original OSX disc (and all of my software)
* I have backed up everything to an external hard drive (also use dropbox and have all of my important docs synced on my MacAir, which is what I am using now).
* I do not have any "User" accounts installed yet, only the Admin.
* I can access my iMac by putting the OSX disc in, but I cannot access the utilities menu (or even do a clean install) without the admin password. When I click on Utilities, it directs me to click "restart," which asks for the Admin Password which I do not have.

I have tried the "Hold C and wait for menu" approach with the OSX disc, but the menu never shows up. It just stays on the grey screen with the Apple.

I have tried the "Hold S and enter mount -uw/" instructions, but it tells me "illegal option" in response.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Switch

12-02-2010, 10:03 AM

To reset your OS X password without an OS X CD you need to enter terminal and create a new admin account:

Reboot
Hold apple + s down after you hear the chime.
When you get text prompt enter in these terminal commands to create a brand new admin account (hitting return after each line):
mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown -h now
After rebooting you should have a brand new admin account. When you login as the new admin you can simply delete the old one and you’re good to go again!

You have to put a space after uw 'mount -uw /'

Hope this helps you. :3


Taken from Reset OS X Password Without an OS X Disc

12-02-2010, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by Wolfsc

To reset your OS X password without an OS X CD you need to enter terminal and create a new admin account:

Reboot
Hold apple + s down after you hear the chime.
When you get text prompt enter in these terminal commands to create a brand new admin account (hitting return after each line):
mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown -h now
After rebooting you should have a brand new admin account. When you login as the new admin you can simply delete the old one and you’re good to go again!

You have to put a space after uw 'mount -uw /'

Hope this helps you. :3


Taken from Reset OS X Password Without an OS X Disc

This is one of the most useful tips I have seen in a while, thanks a bunch for this!

12-02-2010, 05:37 PM

You can reset the admin password by booting off the install disc.
-Put the disc in.
-Restart, and hold C as soon as you hear the chime, until you see the spinning gear.
-select language and click next.
-the menu bar will appear shortly.
-click utilities, then click reset password

12-03-2010, 12:20 PM

The mount -uw/ instruction set worked perfectly ... ,y mistake was that I did not enter the spacing as indicated, because I am not use to seeing it. Thank you so much.

I set up a new Admin ID, which then gave me permission to reset my original Admin ID, and I lost nothing ... MAJOR accomplishment as my new iMac is all loaded up at this point.

Thank you so much ... The learning curve can be steep, but the effort is rewarding. Really enjoy the Mac environment and am really committed to learning it. I installed Parallels, Business Vista, and my MS Office Software, which I have not even touched since I installed it a couple of weeks ago (at least after switching from my BB to an iPhone).

Switch

12-03-2010, 06:20 PM

Yea, I was going to say, "That's because it's: mount -uw / with a space after uw" Got it all working now?

Glad you're enjoying it. Apple gives you a lot of really powerful tools to boost your productivity within the OS. Very cool features. Parallels is nice, especially if you've got the cash. I use the free VirtualBox for most of my VMs, but that's because I'm super nerdy and stuff. I should probably pick up a copy of parallels so I can better help my clients, but yea. Anyway, glad it's all working. Hope you don't have any problems, but any questions at all, post them here and we tend to answer them fairly quickly!

Originally Posted by Tater2Stock

This is one of the most useful tips I have seen in a while, thanks a bunch for this!

You can also mount -uw / and then write over the system password preference file, at least in 10.5 - think it's the same for 10.6.