i'm an idiot and need help..

[lswanson50]

soo..somehow i was playing around with my user accounts and unknowingly managed to make it so that there are no administrators anymore, only standard users . I then logged out and then back in..and now i can't mess with anything because it requires an adminitrator's login to do so...

how do i fix it?

i post this in the switchers thread because this is only my second day owning a mac so i have NO idea what is where or how to do anything..so if anyone has any advice keep in mind i haven't ever owned a mac before.

[mac0s9user]

can you go into system preferences and change the settings under "Accounts"? System Preferences is in thee apple menu. And welcome to Mac-Forums I might add.

[bryphotoguy]

I would think that it's not possible to erase an administrator account. I am pretty positive you can't.
Really, I don't think there could be any way to fix the problem if it is a password issue unless you reformat the computer's HD. Or reinstall the OS. I really don't know and hope someone can chime in. But it sounds like something drastic needs to happen to fix your problem.

Peace

[djames42]

That's curious -- you can't remove administrator rights from the currently logged in account; at least not via system preferences. There's possibly something you could do with the netinfo tool, and you can certainly double-check for administrator access with it...

Go into your Utilities folder and run the Netinfo Manager. From there, click on groups in the left pane, then click on admin. Below, the first property should be users. In there you should see root, as well as any user accounts you have created. If root is the only user available in there, then you may be in trouble. I know you can reset the Administrator password by booting off the installer DVD, but I'm not sure if you can modify account permissions.

Let us know how you make out!

[xstep]

I'm not sure of this, but I think you can boot via the DVD (by holding the C key when booting) and alter the account that way. I just too tire to research it further. The Apple Support site be searched or hopefully someone here knows the exact details.

[lswanson50]

can you go into system preferences and change the settings under "Accounts"? System Preferences is in thee apple menu. And welcome to Mac-Forums I might add.

No, to make any changes i need a user name and password of an administrator

there's currently only two user accounts i've created thus far and when tried it says that i need a user name and password from an administrator

and thank you for welcoming me into the forum

[lswanson50]

That's curious -- you can't remove administrator rights from the currently logged in account; at least not via system preferences. There's possibly something you could do with the netinfo tool, and you can certainly double-check for administrator access with it...

Go into your Utilities folder and run the Netinfo Manager. From there, click on groups in the left pane, then click on admin. Below, the first property should be users. In there you should see root, as well as any user accounts you have created. If root is the only user available in there, then you may be in trouble. I know you can reset the Administrator password by booting off the installer DVD, but I'm not sure if you can modify account permissions.

Let us know how you make out!

i don't know how significant it is but i'd like to add i'm running leopard,
when in my utilities folder i can't find any netinfo manager

could the fact that i'm runnning leopard affect whether or not i have netinfo manager?

again i'm completely new to macs so i apologize to those of you who are thinking i'm a complete retard right now

[djames42]

Oops... I should have asked (and I should have assumed since you said you were new to the Mac). Yes, Leopard has removed the Netinfo Manager tool. I'm still running Tiger, but there was some discussion on the Omni Mac-Talk mailing list about command-line tools for performing user administration tasks.

Doing a bit of googling though, I see something under Utilities called Directory Utility that seems to have some of the same options:

Open Directory Utility located in Application » Utilities. You may have to unlock Directory Utility to make changes. Once it's unlocked, go to Edit » Enable Root User, and then type in a password for your root user.

I also found another link here. This one involves a number of steps using the Terminal (also under Utilities) and may be intimidating if you've never used a Unix shell before, but frankly you've not go much to lose. If you can't recover an administrative account, you'll not be able to install applications or upgrade your existing ones (nor will you be able to install any of the 10.5 upgrades).

Also, if you read the first post in the link above, it suggest that booting from the install media may allow you to recover. You should probably try this first. I'm not sure of the exact steps you would use, 'cause I've never had to do this.

[iLindzo]

Hey there! In regards to your Administrator problem, try this:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread....95737&tstart=0

After upgrading to Leopard, I lost my Admin privileges and did this. Worked like a charm and now I have regained my Admin status! =D

[Joe Diver]

I too had the lost privileges issue after the Leopard upgrade. Booted to the Leopard DVD and used the menu at the top to change the password for System Administrator (hidden in the account list of Preferences). The process from that linked post above:

Here's how to boot from a CD.

1. Boot up the computer into Leopard, insert the install disk.
2. Restart the computer.
3. As soon as you hear the startup bong, press and hold C to boot from the install CD - let go of the key when the Apple logo appears.
4. Double click the install icon.
5. From the Utilities menu, select 'Change passwords...'
6. Use the username 'root' or 'System Administrator' (either will do), and any password you want (*make sure this password is strong* it is to the root account, or the supreme administrator, who can do anything to the system, so make sure it's a secure password that isn't easily guessed. Keep it safe.)
7. Cancel the install. Eject the CD and reboot the machine. In the login screen, there should be an option to log in as 'other'. Use that, and use the username 'root' and the password you put in earlier.
8. Use System Preferences to promote your own account to administrator status.
9. Log out as root and log in as yourself. Voíla!

[Mo_274]

Sorry for asking a sort of non relevant question to the conversation here but :
reading your posts a question popped in my mind:
is it that easy to change the admin (root) password using an installation DVD/CD ? I mean does this mean that anyone with an installation disk can gain control of the root account so easily?

I'm new to Mac as well and havent tried this at home.

[lswanson50]

Hey there! In regards to your Administrator problem, try this:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread....95737&tstart=0

After upgrading to Leopard, I lost my Admin privileges and did this. Worked like a charm and now I have regained my Admin status! =D

This worked! I regained my admin status back!

Now, i'm sure this is in some other thread..but is there any way to delete unwanted user accounts? Or are you stuck with it once you make it?

Thanks for all of your feedback and support, I love mac-forums.com!

[carleymarie]

This definitely worked!

I've only had my MacBook since Thursday, and had a major meltdown when I was not even able to get on my Office trial and realizing that my admin settings had been changed (of course this is happening at 5 am while I was getting ready to do my final copy of a History assignment I was working on). I've lurked around the site for a while, and did a search on my problem, and the solution was quick and easy to find.

Now back to work for me. . .

[iLindzo]

This worked! I regained my admin status back!

Now, i'm sure this is in some other thread..but is there any way to delete unwanted user accounts? Or are you stuck with it once you make it?

Thanks for all of your feedback and support, I love mac-forums.com!

Getting rid of other user accounts is as easy as this:

System Preferences > Accounts > Click on the user to get rid of > Click on the minus sign.



That's it.

[eliehass]

Sorry for asking a sort of non relevant question to the conversation here but :
reading your posts a question popped in my mind:
is it that easy to change the admin (root) password using an installation DVD/CD ? I mean does this mean that anyone with an installation disk can gain control of the root account so easily?

I'm new to Mac as well and havent tried this at home.

wow, i would like an answer to that question as well...