Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Lost Admin Account on OS High Sierra

I tried to update my Admin name on my OS High Sierra and have now lost my admin user account.

The original account was changed to Standard and I now have no Admin account at all.

I do have FileVault turned on and am very concerned about loosing all my files.

Please help.


iMac 27″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Apr 26, 2021 11:35 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Apr 27, 2021 8:00 AM

Thank you BDAqua!

I printed up your clear and concise instructions for reference, took a deep breath, pressed restart and began my journey...

I was able to set-up a new Admin account and all of my old accounts and data were intact.

Whew! You are awesome!

3 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Apr 27, 2021 8:00 AM in response to BDAqua

Thank you BDAqua!

I printed up your clear and concise instructions for reference, took a deep breath, pressed restart and began my journey...

I was able to set-up a new Admin account and all of my old accounts and data were intact.

Whew! You are awesome!

Apr 26, 2021 12:55 PM in response to hpme

Oh man, FileVault seriously complicates things...


See if you can create a new administrator account by restarting the Setup Assistant:

  1. Boot into Single User Mode: Start/restart your Mac. As soon as you hear the startup tone, press and hold ⌘ + S until you see a black screen with white lettering. (If you end up back on the login screen after a flash of the black screen with white lettering, enter your password and it will return to the black screen.)
  2. Check and repair the drive by typing /sbin/fsck -fy then ↩ enter - as directed by the on-screen text.
  3. Mount the drive as read-write by typing /sbin/mount -uw / then ↩ enter.
  4. Remove the Apple Setup Done file by typing rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone then ↩ enter.
  5. Reboot by typing reboot then ↩ enter.
  6. Complete the setup process, creating a new admin account.


Be very careful to notice the spaces in those Terminal Commands.


Once you've done that the computer reboots and it's like the first time you used the machine, except all your data will still be there. Your old accounts are all safe. From there you just change all other account passwords in the account preferences!!

Lost Admin Account on OS High Sierra

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.