Is there a way to reset a Power Mac G4 password?

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Level 1

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Is there a way to reset a Power Mac G4 password?

I decided to start up my old Power Mac G4 mirrored doors after years sitting under my desk. Now I cant remember the password. Is there a way to reset the password or some other work around.

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Posted on Jun 2, 2023 12:49 PM

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Answer 1

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GetG3info Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 4, 2023 9:17 AM in response to BDAqua

The instructions suggested by BDAqua worked. I rebooted my old G4 in setup mode, changed the username and login password and logged in as though it was Day 1 on a new computer. When I was done all my information was there just like I left it all those years ago. Thank You.

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

245,105 points

Jun 2, 2023 2:29 PM in response to GetG3info

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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