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Administrator's name and password - unable to make changes

I just bought my Macbook about two weeks ago, created a administrator name and password, and it worked just fine. However, for the past couple of days, I'm noticing that I cannot make any changes with Software Updates because when I type in the (CORRECT) name and password, the window says "You must type an administrator's name and password to make changes to Software Update. Please try again." Yes, I've BEEN typing the correct name/password. I've tried resetting the password which works fine, but when it comes to inputting it into a window, my macbook doesn't seem to read what I type in. Does anyone know what is going on here? Please help....

Macbook 2.0 GHz, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Jan 22, 2008 1:47 PM

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Posted on Jan 22, 2008 9:15 PM

I had a similar problem. Apple have an article on re setting your password in single user mode. hen I did that it fixed my problem. Article # 306840. Fixed the problem on 2 of my machines. One was an update the other a clean install.
13 replies

Jan 25, 2008 5:10 PM in response to Sarah Tejada

Hey, I solved my problems along the same vein as apple's article, but much more easily. In the single user mode first type:

+/sbin/mount - uw/+

then

passwd

then type a new password (this password is for the "root" administrator, the standard administrator which the mac has reverted back to at some point)
+You will not be able to see what you type, but the text is being recognized+

Asks for you to retype the password

then type reboot

Once the computer restarts you can navigate to system preferences>accounts> and then unlock the account using Username: root and the password you just set. Henceforth, you can appoint your account as the administrator. Hope it works!

Jan 27, 2008 9:53 AM in response to Erinstyles

It is a sort of login that lies 'beneath' the scheme of several users. The user you log into is the root user or 'system administrator'. That means that you should be carefull about the syntax of your commands. Make sure you realise where the spaces are in the command you are advised to use and type those commands exactly as they are given. If they are long ones make sure you don't put line breaks in them that are not intended.

You bring up single user mode by doing a reboot with the command key and the s key both depressed. Keep them so till reams of text run down the screen. The text will stop a what is a prompt. You might care to run an fsck check in single user mode before you use the command given above. Type man fsck into a terminal window. man gets a listing from a database for the unix that tells you about the commands. Use the f or force fsck switch. fsck does a check on the system files etc . If it mentions modifications having been done (before the main exercise) then run it again till they go.

Jan 27, 2008 12:28 PM in response to RMK99

Sorry maybe I wasn't totally clear. I never set an admin root password either. All the sudden one day my mac decided to revert to the original standard root username and password which I obviously did not know. In order to change this:

1) Activate single user mode on reboot as described below by pressing cmd + s as your computer starts up.

2) Where the cursor pops up, type exactly

*+/sbin/mount - uw/+*


3) When the next cursor pops up type exactly

passwd


4) Then you can type any password you want (now changing the root password to be what you want)
+Note you will not be able to see what you type, but the text is being recognized+

5)The computer asks for you to retype the password, retype it

6) Type reboot

Once the computer restarts you can navigate to system preferences>accounts> and then unlock the account (lock is located on the bottom left corner) using Username: root and the password you just set. Henceforth, you can appoint your account as the administrator. Hope it works!

Message was edited by: Donadio

Jan 27, 2008 3:06 PM in response to Sarah Tejada

Good evening everybody!
3 hrs ago I just finish to install Leopard on my MBP. Immediately I saw that 10.5.1 and various updates where ready to install and I start to try to make that updates... Leo ask me to put Administrator name and Password, I'll do it but Leo still continue to ask me an Administrator name.. at the second try tell me taht i put wrong name or password and after the third one he told me to try late because I try many time unsuccessfully...But I put the correct ones!!!! I'm using always the same from 7 years!!
I try to reinstall Leopard but when I click on restart, again appear the request to tape Administrator name and password.
I have to stay forever with 10.5? not anymore able to make any update?
Sorry for myvery bad English, I hope that someone else understand what i need and give me the solution...
Thanks a lot to everybody.

Jan 28, 2008 9:15 AM in response to maurobras

Reply to maurobras.
Seems to me that you have the lost admin problem.One of Leopard'd little ways I have experienced myself. That is the subject of many posts here. Situation (if I am correct in my supposition) is not that you have entered a wrong password, but that what you thought, and what had been till then, was a password of an administrator was not because Leopard had downgraded that user to a non admin.
Look up ' lost administartor' or such in the postings. Put the Leopard install DVD into the machine when booted up.>>>Restart holding down C key. This boots from the install disk. Do not install but look into the menus for the 're set password' option.>>> Choose to re set the root password>>> Write down a good PW for root and write it down.>>>Reset the root password>>>Close the DVD and log in as root with said PW.>>>As root go to System Preferences>>Open the little lock and choose the account that should be an admin>>tick the little box 'allow to administer..'>>>log out of root>>>log in as admin>>open application Directory Utility>> choose to disable root (a safety procedure). You should find now in Sys Prefs that the account IS an admin. Some have found problems getting an option to disable in Directory Utility in that case there is a aTerminal command, disenable root, that works. Make sure of syntax in any Terminal command. Look up man disenable.

Administrator's name and password - unable to make changes

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