How do I avoid stuffing it up

[gth]

Hi guys,

I'm a Linux user by choice - but also have Win 10 machines provided by one employer, and IOS iPad provided by another - so a wide range of PC user experience - and would rank myself as competent but not expert in any of them. I started my computer experience with an Apple ][+ which probably dates me somewhat.

I've just inherited some digital audio equipment from my Uncle who recently died of cancer, which includes a Mac Pro (Model A1186) that was the heart of a significant MIDI setup he used. There is also a digital piano, amplifiers and a heap of other audio and MIDI equipment.

All the software, settings and files to make the system go are on the Mac Pro. I have not even plugged it in yet, but my Dad bricked an iPad from the same source trying to guess my Uncle's password - and I don't want to risk the same outcome. Ideally, I want to be able to recover his recordings and other works he created with this system.

I'm sure I could find a bouncing ball to follow somewhere to reset everything to default and start from scratch, but that would involve loosing his musical heritage which is more valuable to me than just another piece of hardware. I already have 6 or 7 computers I can use to do whatever I need...

I've been told what his password was based on - but don't know exactly what it was. I might be able to guess it - but don't really want to try.

Do I have any options, or is all already lost?

Cheers.

 

[ferrarr]

That model A1186 was made from 2006 - 2008. And those models could have come with Mac OS X Tiger (10.4) or higher and may support anything up to OS X El Capitan (10.11).

It may be possible to reset the password, but there are a lot of determining factors.

 

[gth]

That model A1186 was made from 2006 - 2008. And those models could have come with Mac OS X Tiger (10.4) or higher and may support anything up to OS X El Capitan (10.11).

It may be possible to reset the password, but there are a lot of determining factors.

Thanks ferrarr,

There was also a book in with the kit titled "How to do everything with Mac OS X Panther" - so I'm guessing that will be the installed OS.

Based on some googling, I believe it is the Apple Mac Pro "Eight Core" 2.8 Xeon (2008).

Is there anything else relevant I can find that will help identify any possible next steps?

 

[Horsa]

Hi there, gth - I have exactly the same model of Mac Pro - I love it to bits. I'm typing this on it now, under El Capitan.

Obviously the ideal scenario would be for you to suss your uncle's password and gain full access to his OS and all the audio software he was using, exactly as he had it set up - but if that proves impossible...

I don't know how many HDDs your uncle had in his Mac Pro, but if you're on the quest to recover audio files (and/or maybe multitrack mix files for ProTools or similar), it might be worth you removing the storage drives, plugging them into an external drive caddy and accessing them from another machine. This could be another Mac, a Linux machine or one running Windows, so long as it has software onboard that is capable of reading Apple-formatted file structures.

Here's an article on how to use freeware to read Apple HFS+ volumes from a Windows machine: https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/read-mac-drive-windows-free-3369574/

And here's a Linux forum thread on how to do it from a Linux machine:
https://askubuntu.com/questions/332...d-external-hdd-in-ubuntu-without-access-to-os

At the very least, by this method you may be able to rescue a bunch of WAV or AIFF files.

 

[Horsa]

A bit of extra info here. Have just found an instruction video (dated 2014) that explains how to set up a second (temporary) user account on your uncle's machine, from which you will then be able to re-set the password for his account and thus gain access to the machine as if you were him. The guy who posted the video seems to know his stuff, and claims that the method works on any version of OSX (up to 2014, obviously).

It involves booting into single-user mode and entering a few command-line instructions. The rest of the process is GUI-based. Hope that helps!

 

[ferrarr]

There was also a book in with the kit titled "How to do everything with Mac OS X Panther" - so I'm guessing that will be the installed OS.

Nope. (Mac OS X) Panther is version 10.3 and was not made for Intel architecture.

 

[MarkAllread]

Have you tried booting into recovery mode.
Here’s how you might easily reset password without setiing up another account…
Go here: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/forget-your-macs-password-heres-how-you-can-get-back-in/ Look for: "Recovery Mode is your next best bet” It may or may not work, depending on how it were set up. But worth try. It's got me out of a pickle a few times.

 

[Horsa]

Unfortunately the 'Recovery Mode' method has one drawback: it requires the OP to know his late uncle's Apple ID. The Single User Mode method avoids that issue.

 

[gth]

Thank you all for your assistance.

I actually feel a bit silly, but after getting home from work and rearranging the study so I have somewhere to even sit the Mac Pro on a desk to plug it in and try to set up the new user account - I discovered that is wasn't password protected - at all... Just powered it on - and it went right to the desktop.

I figure he must have kept his private stuff on the iPad / another computer I don't have, and just left the music stuff unlocked So nothing is lost so long as I can figure out what is where.

Many thanks for the suggestions that I'm sure would have been very helpful.

 

[Horsa]

I discovered that is wasn't password protected - at all... Just powered it on - and it went right to the desktop.

Just out of curiosity... which version of OSX is it running?
(You can find this out by clicking the Apple logo at the top left corner of the screen and selecting "About this Mac")

 

[gth]

Just out of curiosity... which version of OSX is it running?

It tells me its version 10.8.5

I've found a bunch of midi files that sound pretty basic on the built in (OS) software midi synth - but the heavy duty software installed is asking for a USB license key before it will run. I'll hunt through the boxes that came with it - but as my Uncle was interstate and Dad brought all the gear back for me - I'd take a small wager that anything looking like a memory stick probably got left behind.

 

[MarkAllread]

Unfortunately the 'Recovery Mode' method has one drawback: it requires the OP to know his late uncle's Apple ID. The Single User Mode method avoids that issue.

Not so @Horsa
If you go to terminal in Recovery mode, type "resetpassword" you are presented with a window of all boot volumes with the option to enter a new password for each user....WITHOUT entering an original password.
There may be limitations on some OS versions or setups but I've been using this method for years and just confirmed it on my MacPro 3.1 and an old iMac
The OP should probably do this anyway to set his own password which presumably he will need at some point. (it sounds like auto login is set)

 

[gth]

Hello again guys.

By way of an update. I did follow the procedure recommended by the video @Horsa linked to and created a new user account, and reset the password on the existing user account.

The OS does now ask for the password to log onto the machine, but as I now know it that isn't a problem. It did not however update the keyring password - so the system now insists on updating the keyring password every time that account logs in - which I still don't know.

In the new user account, I created a new keyring password so that is theoretically set correctly, and also linked that account to my own iTunes account.

I'm still presented with a couple of problems I'm not sure how to navigate around.

All the applications software that is designed to use the hardware is in my uncle's account which pesters for an unknown keyring password every few seconds- and nothing seems to be working correctly without it.

But even in my own new account, if I attempt to install my own applications software, I am thwarted by the only installed browser Safari claiming it is unable to establish a secure connection to virtually every website on the net. So I can't download anything much, and can't browse for solutions from that machine either. I did manage to download an installer for Firefox (since Safari was having so many issues) - but that wouldn't install because the OS is too out of date. The system also tells me there are OS updates available - but experiences unknown errors (103) whenever it attempts to install them.

I'm starting to feel as if the system doesn't want to be used any more...

 

[Horsa]

Hi gth,

Take a look at this webpage:
'What is a keychain password?': How to navigate Apple's Keychain Access app and change your password

Scroll down to the part that says "How to reset your keychain password if you don't know the old password" and study it - this isn't an approach I've tried, but it appears to address your current keychain problem.