07-24-2008, 02:54 PM

I’ve been trying to help a friend who has little Mac experience. He’s using OS 10.2 on an early iBook.
Apparently when the computer was purchased six years ago an admin password and a user password were entered in the shop. These were forgotten and lost.
This hasn’t been a problem until now because he hasn’t wanted to download software or do anything else that requires an admin password. Now he wants to use Safari. (He’s been using IE5, which was installed on the computer when he bought it but now needs a more up-to-date browser.)
He’s managed to change the admin password using his install discs and, with the help of someone in the shop where he bought the computer, he’s changed the password on his user account so it’s the same as the new admin password. All that enabled him to download Safari with “Software Update” but he can’t use it because he’s asked for a keychain password when he tries and the new admin (and user) password is rejected.
According to MacHelp the way to change a keychain password is by using “Keychain Access” but in order to do that you apparently have to have the old keychain password. When my friend enters his new admin (and user) password (as the old password) it’s rejected.
Any help as to how to get out of this dead end would be much appreciated by me —and my friend.
regards to all from flunn
p.s. As I understand it keychain passwords are supposed to be automatically set to be identical with admin passords, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

07-24-2008, 03:06 PM

The keychain is stiff using the old forgotten password, you should still be able to open keychain access and delete the old passwords

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106973