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Jun 8, 2009 12:45 PM in response to CartooNxHerOby Limnos,★Helpful[Topic : kmosx: I lost my admin user (Mac OS X 10.4 and earlier)|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=121786&tstart=0]
[Regaining lost admin status on OS X|http://www.salingfamily.net/trav/osx/regain_admin.html]
[Running Mac OS X Setup Assistant again|http://superpixel.ch/articles/running-setup-assistant-again>
Your friend should look into getting hold of an OS disc. Apart from the legal issues of running an unlicensed OS your friend will also need a disc to do maintenance on the computer and reinstalling software.
Message was edited by: Limnos -
Jun 8, 2009 1:11 PM in response to Limnosby CartooNxHerO,Ok, so I used the advice from the third link you gave me but i'm still in single user mode trying to figure out how to delete the users home folders.
Message was edited by: CartooNxHerO -
Jun 8, 2009 1:35 PM in response to CartooNxHerOby rccharles,CartooNxHerO wrote:
Ok, so I used the advice from the third link you gave me but i'm still in single user mode trying to figure out how to delete the users home folders.
Message was edited by: CartooNxHerO
You do not need to delete "the users home folders". Nor do you need to delete the netinfo database. Here are two proceedures:Change Password
Mac OS X:
Changing or resetting an account password via GUI:
Resetting a user's password
Resetting the original administrator account password
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106156
You do not have a CD/DVD
Changing password from single user mode:
You can also change the administrator's password from single user mode or create a new administrator account.
You need to get into single use mode for steps one and two that are listed below.
This page will tell you how to get into single user mode.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1492
Basically, you hold down the command-s key then powering on your machine. The command key has a little apple symbol on the lower left. It is between the alt/option key and the space bar. On a PC keyboard, it will be the windows key, I think.
1) You can change the password on an account. ( Do you know Unix. You are in a Unix single user console. ) The setup commands you need should be listed on the screen. For Mac OS 10.4.11, the commands are:
# Type the follow two instructions to access the startup disk in read/write:
/sbin/fsck -fy
/sbin/mount -uw /
# Start up some utility processes that are needed.
sh /etc/rc
# You will probably need to press the return key once the system stops typing.
# To find out the users on the system type, use the list command. The l is a lower case L:
ls /Users
# One of these accounts will be the administrator.
# Pick one of the users which I'll call a-user-name and type it in this command:
passwd a-user-name
# and enter the new user password. You need six characters.
# You will need to enter your password twice. Your typing will not show up on the screen just
# press enter when you complete the typing.
# For cryptic information on these commands try:
man ls
man passwd
The root account isn't enabled by default. I am not sure if changing the password on root will enable it.
2) Get the Mac to set up an additional administrative account. You can then change the password on your old account.
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.
/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
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/howdo_i_reset_my_mac_os_x_admin_rootpassword.html
You will need to scroll down to see this post. Search for applesetupdone
Or see:
http://superpixel.ch/articles/running-setup-assistant-again/
Once you have a new administrative account, you can change the password of your old administrative account
blue apple > System Preferences > Accounts -
Jun 9, 2009 10:52 AM in response to CartooNxHerOby Király,I really wouldn't try and mess with this if I were you.
When acquiring a used Mac, here's no way of telling what kinds of hacks, security holes, spyware, pirated software, or other junk may have been left on it by any previous owners. Getting a used computer and using it when you have no idea what is installed on it is a Very High Security Risk. The first thing I do when buying a used Mac is reformat the hard drive and reinstall everything using the original install discs. It's really the only safe thing to do.
So if I were your friend, I'd stop using this Mac immediately until I obtained a set of install discs and did a complete erase and reinstall.
Oh, and Limnos is exactly right. Without the install discs, all software on your friends's Mac is unlicensed (aka pirated). It is not legal for her to use it until she gets copies of the install discs.