Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
Hi, I bought a second hand MacBook Pro and I changed the username but now I don't have administrator access to the computer. How do I retrieve the admin username and password so that I can unlock the system preference to be able to get admin privileges?
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.13
Wipe the Mac and reload, or you’ll be chasing remnants of the previous owner and for the foreseeable future.
Erase and reinstall macOS - Apple Support
And changing the username requires specific steps.
Change the name of your macOS user account and home folder - Apple Support
Wipe the Mac and reload, or you’ll be chasing remnants of the previous owner and for the foreseeable future.
Erase and reinstall macOS - Apple Support
And changing the username requires specific steps.
Change the name of your macOS user account and home folder - Apple Support
See the erase-and-install link from my first reply here.
Also see ➡️ How to Setup and Use an External SSD as y… - Apple Community
Depending on the particular situation here, you may not be able to access those files in this Mac.
Your options are a second macOS install on external storage and booting from that, then using that to pick off your files from the faulty install, then wiping the internal storage and re-installing, or (with a second Mac) using target disk mode and the appropriate cables and picking off the old data that way.
The former is probably the best path, and the external storage can then be reinitialized and re-purposed as a Time Machine backup once the initial file recovery has been completed. This is the same as erase-and-install, but with external storage.
Backups best happen before the disaster (and this is a disaster), and no backups means the data is considered worthless.
MrHoffman, Im sorry to intrude like this, just dont know how else to get a word with you.
Ive seen a post here in this forum about someone with exact same issue Ive been struggling with since September last year. Your replied was very extensive and vast. Most of those 'solutions' I have tried unsuccessfully.. It feels like a ghost is following me. If we could exchange a couple of words/emails.. (i dont know, just dont feel comfortable posting all those sensitive information like that as my same-issue-fella did and I found ur reply.) I noticed you're extremely knowledgeable and I feel like I got myself into a superintensive educational process in this... Maybe you can give me some insight I need to decide where to go.
My email is or whatever u think its best, just let me know.. what works best for you.. please.
Thank u,
CJ
[Email Edited by Moderator]
I can't get access to back up my files before erasing. It needs me to unlock with the username and password that I don't have. I already saved some things on the computer so I can't just erase it.
How do I do a second hand install on external drive? Is there somewhere where I can get a tutorial?
Administrator access
