URGENT....HELP HELP going Nuts!!!

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I have not been using my MBA for several days as I was away at a wedding.
I have forgotten my password to sign in.

is there a way to work a way around finding out what my password is on my MBA?

currently am using my windows notebook to work on.
 

chscag

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If you tell us which MacBook Air you have and what version of OS X it's running, we can tell you how to bypass the log on password and create a new one.
 
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lori5060
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oh thank goodness!!!
i have an MBA running newest version of Yosemite.
not sure what you mean by which MBA...i have
just purchased it this past March and am still learning it.
 

chscag

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OK, that's all the information we need. Since your new MacBook Air is running Yosemite, here's how to bypass the password and create a new one. Follow the instructions as given in this article. It requires booting to "Recovery", entering Utilities, and the Terminal.app. Very easy to do.

Follow these instructions
 
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i do not have any options to click on anything
my desktop is blank except for icon in centre. my name
and prompt for password.
or cancel at bottom

no apple icon top left. nothing to click on.
 
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i do not have any options to click on anything
my desktop is blank except for icon in centre. my name
and prompt for password.
or cancel at bottom

no apple icon top left. nothing to click on.

Hi Lori.... - press the 'Start' button in the right upper corner to boot your computer and on startup, hold down the 'CMD' & 'R' keys to boot into recovery mode as suggested in the link given - let us know if this maneuver works. Dave :)
 
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i had to turn it off first.
so i pressed start button and as apple started to load i held cmd and r down
screen came up with my little icon
my name
and blank field asking for password
this time it had question mark in box which i clicked and nothing happened
to the left of password prompt box was an arrow which did nothing when pressed
at bottom are three buttons....sleep; restart and shutdown

is that what should it look like?
 
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lori5060
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just click on that ? again and message said":
this account uses an icloud password to login
if you need to change password, use another device to change it at...
appleid.apple.com

is this something else or what should be expected?
 
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lori5060
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holy crap!!!
i was just playing around and guessing and miraculously i was able to login.
i am so excited

and now for sure will write that password down somewhere in a protected file.

thank you for your help.
 
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holy crap!!!
i was just playing around and guessing and miraculously i was able to login.
i am so excited

and now for sure will write that password down somewhere in a protected file.

thank you for your help.

Hi Lori.... - great that you are logged onto your computer - not sure if we helped much? You did not seem to boot into 'recovery mode' (timing is often the issue when holding down the CMD-R keys).

From your description above, sounds as if you were able to login w/ you iCloud password - see that attachment below from 'System Preferences' -> 'Users & Groups' - there is an option to reset a password w/ your Apple ID, which may have happened - just a guess; but you may want to look at your User's accounts and make sure all is known relative to your previous or new passwords. Dave :)
.

Screen Shot 2015-06-16 at 10.57.40 PM.png
 

Slydude

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@lori5060 Glad you got that sorted out. Here's something to keep in mind for future reference: The next time you have to boot into recovery mode press the command and r keys as soon as you turn the computer on. Do not wait for the Apple logo to appear on the screen.

There are some other keys that can be used for various functions at startup. Don't worry about that right now. Just know that for any of those startup keys you press them immediately at startup.
 
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raddave...yes timing is the issue, i had waited until the apple logo came up.
thanks to slydude, i see what i did wrong. thank you for that.

yes i did have my login pw same as my apple id pw... all happened automatically when i setup my MBA.

I have so many different accounts and passwords when used win7 (all documented in a pw protected doc..which i could not access cuz i copied it to thumb drive to read on windows pc but it was in pages format and i could not open it)....going to work on paring down all my accounts/pw as i don't think i need all that security using my MBA.

thank you for the visual of what screen should pop up and how to change things. that is very helpful for me.

this site is so very helpful.... i only hope that some day i will become experienced enough to help out some newbies.
 

Slydude

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@lori5060 Don't feel bad about not pressing the startup keys fast enough. Sometimes we forget that not everyone knows that. Besides, I know the trick and sometimes my fingers don't work fast enough.
 
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One final piece of advice...log out of your MacBook every time your done using it and use password hints (System Preferences>Users & Groups>Login Options) until you have your password memorized and you're sure you will not forget it. Not only can someone get right into your computer if you are ever robbed (i.e. while you are away at weddings), but you will tend to forget your password if aren't logging out and logging back in each time. Not only is this more secure, but it forces you to put in your password every time you open your computer, making it second nature so you will never forget it...
I never write down passwords on paper, especially master login passwords to computers. You'll still forget it and then you'll forget where that "safe place" is you put it...
 

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