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Jun 8, 2016 1:28 PM in response to STEVEJ1385by tim_135,Hello STEVEJ1385,
I understand that you are unable to unlock your keychain because you don't know the password. I know that it can be frustrating but we can get that sorted out.
Now if you recently changed your password for your Mac, the login keychain's password is still the old password. You can fix that but that requires that you reset your keychain. Take a look at the article below for more details on this. I have also highlighted the specific steps to reset your keychain.
If your Mac keeps asking for the login keychain password
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201609
Change or reset the password of an OS X user account
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202860#keychain
Create a new login keychain
After resetting your password and logging back in to your account, you might see an alert that the system was unable to unlock your login keychain. This is expected, because the passwords for your user account and login keychain no longer match. Just click the Create New Keychain button.
If you didn't see an alert about your login keychain, or you see other messages asking for your old password, reset your keychain manually:
- Open Keychain Access, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
- Choose Preferences from the Keychain Access menu, then click the Reset My Default Keychain button in the preferences window. After you enter your new password, Keychain Access creates an empty login keychain with no password. Click OK to confirm.
If you don't see a Reset My Default keychain button, close the preferences window and select the “login” keychain from the left side of the Keychain Access window. Press the Delete key, then click Delete References.
- Choose Log Out from the Apple menu to return to the login screen.
- Log in to your account using your new password. Your account password and login keychain password now match again.
Take care -
Jun 8, 2016 1:40 PM in response to STEVEJ1385by Grant Bennet-Alder,If you can remember the old password, you can get access to your old keychain again, and reset its password to your login password. Then you can proceed as if nothing had changed.
Your old keychain is encrypted in a very secure manner. There is no way to "break it open". If there were a way to break it open, that method would be well known, and the keychain would essentially not be locked at all. So if you cannot remember the old password, your old keychain and all the passwords on it are dead to you.
if you choose to "create a new Keychain", it will be a new EMPTY keychain.
You will then have to go about the business of re-creating the items that were on the old keychain. Every place that requires a password (that may be on the old keychain), you will have to obtain those passwords by other means, such as the "I forgot my password" links where they email you the password or generate a temporary password. Then you can add them to your new keychain, one by one.
