Just in case I forget my administrator password

Hi All

Not had the iMac long and just tried to create a shared drive on my windows XP laptop that I could then to copy pictures from the windows laptop to the Mac. Being relatively non-technical I figured I would fail in this relatively advanced attempt but "what could possibly go wrong".
Well somehow whilst trying to set-up shared drives etc on the Windows laptop I have either corrupted or mistakenly changed my Windows Administrator password. Consequently, that is now well and truly locked up and I can no longer access it. i have trawled the web and even tried a recovery program to no avail.

Anyway, as grim as that is for my laptop, I would like to make something positive from this experience and do whatever I need to do to avoid the situation on my lovely new iMac. (i.e. Should I forget my Admin password be in a position where I have a 'password' disk or whatever to get back in.

I did a google search (foolish me I should have come here first) and seen reference to making a recovery disk etc and one which referred to using the original Lion disk.

My questions :
(1) I bought my new iMac a couple of months ago and pretty sure I did not receive a Lion / Boot disk. Is this something that should come with every new iMac or is this now no longer the case ? (If I should have received one with the iMac I will go back to the shop to pursue).
(2) What do I need to do to avoid the pain I am experiencing on my Windows Laptop and ensure that should I forget the Administrator password on my IMac then I have a fallback approach ?

Thanks in advance for any help / guidance....

Embarrassed Newbie !

Macs don't ship with install disks anymore, so you'll have to create your own. Follow this link from the Apple website, which will guide you through the process of creating a bootable version of Lion. All you need is a thumb drive.

With regards to your password issue, I believe within the "Users and Groups" preferences pane, there's an option to select to enable you to reset the admin password with your AppleID.

I've not tested this to see if it works, but I presume that it's for instances such as this.

No doubt someone with some knowledge will come along in a bit...

Edit - would help if I included the link, wouldn't it? http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1433

Hi Chuckoir

Thank you for your response. Good to know I'm not missing a disk with my new iMac.

I'm ok with changing passwords within OS X, my concern is if I should accidentally lock myself out as I have done with my laptop. Can I create a 'password' disk to prove my authenticity and enable me to logon if I forget my admin password.

Thanks again for your response.

Chuckoir said:

Macs don't ship with install disks anymore, so you'll have to create your own. Follow this link from the Apple website, which will guide you through the process of creating a bootable version of Lion. All you need is a thumb drive.

With regards to your password issue, I believe within the "Users and Groups" preferences pane, there's an option to select to enable you to reset the admin password with your AppleID.

I've not tested this to see if it works, but I presume that it's for instances such as this.

No doubt someone with some knowledge will come along in a bit...

Edit - would help if I included the link, wouldn't it? Lion Recovery Disk Assistant

Click to expand...

You can allow reset of password with AppleID now. While I haven't used it, I surmise this means that if your machine is Internet connected (which is the total basis of ALL Apple recovery/troubleshooting anymore), you can log in via your AppleID and reset the password.


OS X Lion: Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password

There's an echo in 'ere.... ;D

Chuckoir said:

There's an echo in 'ere.... ;D

Click to expand...

Gah, somehow I missed that post. Not enough coffee this morning yet is my guess

Thats great news, thank you for your responses and putting this Newbies mind at rest.
Cheers !