Boot Camp and re-install of Mac OS

I have a Mac (2013 vintage) with Bootcamp and Windows 7
I cannot get into the Mac OS because it says I need to use the password from my AppleID. I know the password for my AppleID but it just says it is wrong which means I cannot access the Mac OS any more. I have been through AppleID login via the web and my password/secret questions are fine.
My Windows 7 Boot Camp partition is perfect and I really do not want to re-install it.
I have nothing on the Mac side that I would cry about losing.
My Question:
Can I re-install MAC OS but retain my (precious) Windows 7 Boot Camp partition, or will re-installing Mac OS blow the Windows 7 away?
Many thanks,
Colin

You should just be able to re-install Mac OS in the same partition it resides in now.

Usual caveats apply - make sure you have a backup - minimum of anything you can't easily replace. Winclone can backup BootCamp partitions)

But before you do, can I ask which Mac you have and at what point it's asking for your Apple ID password?

G4GBP said:

I cannot get into the Mac OS because it says I need to use the password from my AppleID.

Click to expand...

If you have Windows installed via bootcamp...then your Windows install & MacOS install are on completely seperate partitions. If you're trying to boot into the MacOS partition...then the password needed would not be your Apple ID & PW...but the admin password you may have setup that needs to be entered after booting the computer.

The only reason why the Apple ID & PW would be needed is if you've actually booted into the Recovery partition and trying to reinstall the Mac OS...and if this is true...then this is a COMPLETELY different thing than saying "I cannot get into the MacOS"...mentioned above.

G4GBP said:

Can I re-install MAC OS but retain my (precious) Windows 7 Boot Camp partition, or will re-installing Mac OS blow the Windows 7 away?

Click to expand...

As mentioned above...if Windows was installed via Bootcamp...then the Windows install is on a different partition than the Mac OS. And...you should not need to reinstall the MacOS...because if the MacOS was installed previously...it should not need to be reinstalled. The MacOS should be on a different partition.

And as I mentioned above. The reason why you're being asked for your Apple ID & PW...is because you must be trying to reinstall the MacOS. Again...this is VERY different task than "I cannot get into the MacOS".

- Nick

pigoo3 - thank you for your reply.
I do not believe there to be any issues with my Mac OS installation and have not been in the throes of re-installing or repairing.
I start the computer in Mac OS (not very often because I do not use the MAC OS because all the important software I use only runs under Windows) and at the end of a seemingly successful boot I am presented with a picture of a Zebra (probably my own choice) and my name with a password box. I type in my password as known to me. After repeating this a couple of times I am presented with the message that the password is my AppleID password and that I need to go to another device and check my AppleID password.
I log into my AppleID OK with the same password as I was previously using on my Mac and all is Ok.
The Mac OS was I believe upgraded about two years ago to the latest version as was at that time. It was working OK when I last used it about a year ago.
HTH

Colin
PS Macs make the best PCs ever...

It is asking for your Administrator password which you set up when you set up the operating system originally. If they are the same password, might be a great idea to change the Admin password.

If you had supplied the operating system, could have helped further, but try this:-


https://coolestguidesontheplanet.com/reset-forgotten-admin-password-mac-osx/