Forgotten Password!! Please Help!!

Sorry i'm new here and don't know how to post exactly, So I didn't know how to get to a forum with older OS systems. . .
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I have an older mac, its a g4 and I just recently hooked it back up. I've had it for a while (since 2001 or so) so I don't remeber the password that I stored in there It's Been way tooooooo long, anyways I want to get into my profile because I have some of my project files that i created on there and i cant seem to get them with out logging in to user Lloyd, im getting in only on the default login and it is not allowing me to get some files that i know are there. . . . .
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Anyone know of a good program or a way to get my password off of the mac or change it or something that I can browse through the files or something? Another question would be that if I do a password reset will I loose all information stored on that users drive?. . .
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Any information at all would be very helpful thank you very much for taking the time to review my post in the first place.

Oh Yeah forgot to say thats operating on OS 9.1 i believe

Thanks again.

if you get the restore disc you can reset your password (boot computer with cd in the drive and hold down 'C')

Hmmm, I don't think you can reset the passwords on OS9, but it's been a while since I have even booted to OS9 or classic.

Thanks, I will try this deux_ex_machina!
Ohw man do you know of anything I can do if this doesn't work baggss?

Just looked at those picts. .baggss. . nice. . you've been to all those places? . man I need to get out more! them are some great shots.

Another quick question.-deus_ex- I have to disk which one is best to use?-"Software Install" or "Software Restore"? or does it even matter i can use either?

I've just looked on my computer and it says 9.1 OS version but im looking at the cd's I have and they say SSW version9.0.4 and cd version 2.2 on both of them.
Can I use these anyway? I know that these have to be the disks because i kept everything together and I don't own another mac and didn't upgrade at all with it.
But anyway how do I go about reseting the password without loosing any info? Which disk is best?
And do I hold down just the "C" key or "conrtol or command or option" along with the "C" key when I boot?

Lloyd said:

Another quick question.-deus_ex- I have to disk which one is best to use?-"Software Install" or "Software Restore"? or does it even matter i can use either?

I've just looked on my computer and it says 9.1 OS version but im looking at the cd's I have and they say SSW version9.0.4 and cd version 2.2 on both of them.
Can I use these anyway? I know that these have to be the disks because i kept everything together and I don't own another mac and didn't upgrade at all with it.
But anyway how do I go about reseting the password without loosing any info? Which disk is best?
And do I hold down just the "C" key or "conrtol or command or option" along with the "C" key when I boot?

Click to expand...

I believe the restore disc but its been a while. Just hold down the 'C' key on boot. You'll be taken to a utility to restore but it won't restore your software automatically, you'll have prompts. The thing you're looking for is a disk utility that has "reset password" in one of the pulldown menus. Try both discs - I haven't used OS9 in years, much less restored with it. Booting from CD won't hurt anything. Good luck.

Just found this thread, explains further:Click here

Thanks will try and i'll post as soon as I've tried both disks or if the first one worked or whatever. But thank you again especially for replying so quickly.

There is no "reset password" for pre-X systems. In OS 9 the password is stored in one of the preference files; I don't have an OS 9 machine now to check but I think it is the file sharing pref. If you can startup from a boot CD you should be able to access the system folder on the hard drive. Then you can remove the pref file from the system. Stash it in a another folder in case you need it for some other reason. In fact, once the computer is booted from the CD you should be able to browse the hard drive without any problem. Another approach would be to perform a "clean install" of OS 9. That will create a new system and disable the old one. It will create all new prefs files (bypassing the existing ones) and will leave your data intact. The disadvantage is that you may need to enter the registration codes for some of the software (MS products for example) so check that you have them available.

deus_ex_machina said:

I believe the restore disc but its been a while. Just hold down the 'C' key on boot. You'll be taken to a utility to restore but it won't restore your software automatically, you'll have prompts. The thing you're looking for is a disk utility that has "reset password" in one of the pulldown menus. Try both discs - I haven't used OS9 in years, much less restored with it. Booting from CD won't hurt anything. Good luck.

Just found this thread, explains further:Click here

Click to expand...

I don't recall OS9 having anything like this, but I could be wrong. That was one of the biggest drawbacks of OS9 and it's security system.

That other thread isn't all that helpful...

Lloyd,

Your only other option may be to pull the drive and put it in another Mac with either OS9 or OSX. That machine may be able to access the data and allow you to pull off what you want, then again it may ask for a password to access the drive. I think the password was only for boot-up and log in, like OSX, so you may be able to work around it that way.

Badger said:

There is no "reset password" for pre-X systems. In OS 9 the password is stored in one of the preference files; I don't have an OS 9 machine now to check but I think it is the file sharing pref. If you can startup from a boot CD you should be able to access the system folder on the hard drive. Then you can remove the pref file from the system. Stash it in a another folder in case you need it for some other reason. In fact, once the computer is booted from the CD you should be able to browse the hard drive without any problem. Another approach would be to perform a "clean install" of OS 9. That will create a new system and disable the old one. It will create all new prefs files (bypassing the existing ones) and will leave your data intact. The disadvantage is that you may need to enter the registration codes for some of the software (MS products for example) so check that you have them available.

Click to expand...

Just a correction: the file to delete is the multi-User pref file. This is from an old thread on the Apple OS 9 help forum: "Boot the machine to any CD which boots to an acceptable version of OS 9 (an OS 9 Install CD is best). After the machine is booted to the CD (no need to run any installer), go into the Preferences folder in System Folder, locate the file named Multi-User Prefs and throw it away. Empty the Trash. Then restart normally. This should remove all passwords associated with Multiple Users."

That sounds right! I always forget that when you boot from an OS9 (or older classic) CD, you still had access to the desktop.

Thank You I was just about to put in the restore cd and I thought let me just check on here real quick to see if anything new was on here. thanx

"Stash it in a another folder in case you need it for some other reason."

When I delete the Multi-Pref folder do I make a copy and delete the true folder or move it?And where is a good place to move it that wouldn't cause the startup-try to load it?(desktop good?) Because I'm remembering I used to hide files and projects everywhere on the system just incase someone was on my computer that didn't know what they was doing(like my older brother) and might accidentally delete something.

In any case Thank You for the reply I greatly appreciate everyone's wisdom.

In reality, keeping the multi-user pref file would be useless. Since it contains the unknown password there is no way that it would be useable. Just go ahead and drag it to the trash and delete it. Sorry for the miscue. Be sure that you are deleting the multi-user preference file, not the multi-user folder.

Thanks for swooping in Badger - not too familiar with OS9

Thank you everyone that helped me. I was searching through the computer and found the Multi-User Preference file, I also seen a User Preference file and a Default-User Preference file. I left the other two alone and deleted the Multi-Pref. file and it worked, it got rid of the user Lloyd. Now whats left is I have to browse through the files to see if everythings still intact. . . . .
I've done a quick browse and it seems that there are some files that i guess have dead links now, I don't know if they were dead to begin with cuz i haven't used the computer in a long time, but here's what some of them say "The alias "Apple Help Veiwer" could not be opened because the original file could not be found." Then it has 3 buttons at the bottom saying "delete alias", "fix alias", and "ok". There are a couple of files like this. Should I be concerned for lost files or is this normal(files like these will be located somewhere else on the HD)? And one of the folders has a weird name like this: "DZÇ∆ǶÇËÉwÉãÉv" ??? What is that? Anything at all I should do or just go ahead and delete these files and folders?

Those files are all located in the preference folder of the lloydpina user. I think its only the apple help preference folder thats effected with this, thats all I found so far :mac:. Thank You guys for all your help I really appriciate it. . . .

Now i can get back to work working on the best darned machines ever made(MAC's) that is! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

I will post probably one more time on this thread to let everyone know what happened after i've used the computer for a day or two and searched through it.

Thank You again.