HT202860: Change or reset the password of an OS X user account
Learn about Change or reset the password of an OS X user account
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Helpful answers
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Jun 15, 2015 11:53 AM in response to Deacondudeby Allan Jones,Can you tell us what Mac OSX version it has? That could affect instructions for trying to address your issue. If you cannot start the computer far enough to see "About this Mac" in your Apple menu, you can find the serial number on a sticker (please see: Find the serial number of your Apple hardware product - Apple Support ) and enter it into this Apple support page:
https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do
to have the model identified.
If your iMac is too old to use the Apple lookup function (it happens) you can get the same information with this web site:
http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/
Please let us know what you find BUT do not post the computer's serial number in these forums.
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Jun 15, 2015 12:49 PM in response to Allan Jonesby Deacondude,Hi Allen,
Thanx very much for the prompt reply. I was able to read the Serial Number off the bottom of the iMac, but when I try to enter it in the Apple support pge, I get We're sorry, but this serial number is not valid. Please check your information and try again.
The serial number does come up, however, on the everymac.com website as legit.
What do I do now>
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Jun 15, 2015 12:51 PM in response to Deacondudeby stevejobsfan0123,And what does the Everymac website say about it? I suspect it is an iMac G3.
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Jun 16, 2015 9:56 AM in response to Deacondudeby rccharles,Get the Mac to set up an additional administrative account. You can then change the password on your old account. This will work all all releases of Mac OS X so far.
Start with your computer power off. Hold down command-s. Power on your computer.
Type in the following:
The first two commands will depend on your release of Mac OS X. Look at what is typed out in the console to determine the exact format.
# Type the follow two instructions to access the startup disk in read/write. Press return after each command.
# in case of partial success repeat this command until errors go away.
/sbin/fsck -fy
/sbin/mount -uw /
cd /var/db
pwd
#List all files. The l is a lower case L.
ls -a
#The move command acts as a rename command in this format.
mv -i .applesetupdone .applesetupdone.old
# reboot your mac
shutdown -r now
Once you've done that the computer reboots and it's like the first time you used the machine. Your old accounts are all safe. From there you just change all other account passwords in the account preferences!!
Limnos adds detailed explainations:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8441597#8441597
The above the idea came from a post by JoseAranda at September 9, 2006 3:48 AM
http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_reset_my_mac_os_x_admin_root_password.html
You will need to scroll down to see this post. Search for applesetupdone