os x password help on new hard drive install

[sonnata]

I installed a new hard drive on my mid 2007 iMac. I used Disk Utility to erase the new hard drive and create a Journaled HFS file system. Then I installed Snow Leopard. After I installed the OS, I restored a Time Machine backup. Now the OS is asking for my original password, which I know, but the system isn't recognizing it. The system also asked for the master password, which it did accept in order to set up a new password for my user account. When I entered a new password, the os wouldn't accept that either. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

 

[IWT]

Hi sonnata and welcome to the Forums.

Others with more direct experience will chime in soon, but a question that I have to ask is: after you had wiped the HD and during the re-installation of Snow Leopard, did you create a new identity? You may have been asked if you wanted to or done so yourself. I ask because if you did, and then used TM to restore, there will be a conflict between the account identity you created and that which was on TM. This is a recognised cause of your difficulty (and is especially true of people using migration assistant if they create a new identity).

Ian

 

[sonnata]

Thanks so much for your advice, Ian. I apologize for the tardy response.


I think that may have been what happened, but I didn't log the process and I don't remember setting up a new identity. I wound up taking the machine to an apple store where they wiped the HD, then installed Mavericks. They also told me what to do if I ran into the same issue after I restored my TM backup.

I'm going to make a bootable disk from Mavericks to save myself a trip to the Apple store should something go wrong with this hard drive.

 

[IWT]

I'm glad that a solution has emerged and hope that all goes well with you.

Ian