Can't unlock admin users account

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Level 1

24 points

Can't unlock admin users account

I was cleaning an old iMac (27" 2011 - OS 10.13.6) to give to nephew. I followed instructions to change user name and password. Hit 'restart' then realized I wanted a screen shot of the info as a reference for the new owner. Stopped the shut down. When I opened the Users & Groups (advanced) window again, it was mostly blank now. Continued the shut down (big mistake).

Now I can see the User Name, I can log in to the account (so the password works) but when I click the lock to allow changes, the user name does not work - I assume the password does as it does allow me to log into the admin account.

I have tried resetting the password again through the terminal, and yes I can change the password.

I have listed the users in the terminal (Ls/Users) and I can see the name, but when I put the name into 'user name' it doesn't work.

Yes I'm a dummy, but how does this dummy fix this?

-rob

Posted on Nov 18, 2022 11:19 AM

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Answer 1

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BDAqua

Level 10

239,351 points

Nov 18, 2022 12:23 PM in response to rbDESIGN

In the SysPref>Uses ^ groups, does it say admin under that user's name?

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

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.)
Check and repair the drive by typing /sbin/fsck -fy then ↩ enter - as directed by the on-screen text.
Mount the drive as read-write by typing /sbin/mount -uw / then ↩ enter.
Remove the Apple Setup Done file by typing rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone then ↩ enter.
Reboot by typing reboot then ↩ enter.
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!!

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