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Level 1

6 points

iMac Logon Issue: "Other" Account

All, I've had an iMac for over 2 years now, never an issue, runs like a charm. Typically I do not turn it off, except to reboot every 30 days or so or when software updates require it. During a reboot today the logon screen came up with only one account name "Other". Usually the logon screen presents the 5 accounts I have set up (1 admin, the others standard). No amount of username / password combo will let me log into the "Other" account and I am at a loss for what to do. Obviously something changed, but I can't remember doing anything that would cause this.

Any ideas on what might have happened, and more importantly, how can I get back to logging on to my normal accounts? Right now I am completely locked out.

Thanks!

Jim

24" 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo / 4 GB 8 MHz DDR2 SDRAM00, Mac OS X (10.6.1)

Posted on May 25, 2011 8:00 PM

24 replies

May 27, 2011 2:34 AM in response to durignieux pierre

No use; if the EFI password has been set, neither the install disc or the boot HD are accesible without the password.

May 27, 2011 3:14 AM in response to imaginos

There does appear to be a way to do this, but it's a bit drastic, and I'm reluctant to post it in an open forum as it gives anyone with a stolen laptop the method to defeat it.

Your first port of call now should be Apple Tech Support; 1-800-APL-CARE (1-800-275-2273) in the US, 1-800-263-3394 in Canada, 0844 209 0611 in UK, 1850 946 191 for RoI. Other territories, check your warranty book.

Tell them the symptons and that you suspect a firmware password may have been set.

They'll probably get you to repeat some of the stuff we've already done, but should then be able to tell you the solution.

You may need a screwdriver handy.

imaginos Author

Level 1

6 points

May 27, 2011 4:20 AM in response to noondaywitch

Thanks for all the replies. I will durignieux pierre's suggestion and then call Apple. That was my next step. I really have no idea how any low level passwords would have been set (or reset) as I have not messed with permissions, security, or really anything of that nature. While my wife has access to the admin password, she never logs on that way and would not know how to set permissions to begin with.

I'll call Apple with my issue and report back.

Thanks everyone!

Jim

imaginos Author

Level 1

6 points

May 27, 2011 5:24 AM in response to imaginos

Small victory! Pierre's suggestion worked and I was able to reset the password! Now I can log into the dastardly "Other" account, but I don't know where to go from here. I remain logged on to the "Other" account (it shows as "System Administrator" on the status bar) because I'm afraid to log out!

When I go into the HD in Finder I can see all my documents and see all the folders for the users I defined, but in "Settings", under user accounts I only see the System Administrator account and a Guest Account. Did I blow away the accounts when I reset the password? If so, do I need to redefine the accounts? If I do that will it blow away their user folders and contents and create new ones (if so I'll need to move their files, etc. before I redefine, that's why I'm asking)?

Anyway, I think I'm almost there, just need a bit more recovery help now. Pierre, thank you! Witch, do you think I still need to call Apple for the last ditch effort you describe now?

Jim

May 27, 2011 5:35 AM in response to imaginos

imaginos wrote

Anyway, I think I'm almost there, just need a bit more recovery help now. Pierre, thank you! Witch, do you think I still need to call Apple for the last ditch effort you describe now?

Jim

No; if that worked, it was a root password not a firmware one, so the drastic measure is not required.

Working out how it's got set and why the other accounts don't show is the problem now. It's good that the home folders for those accounts are still there.

I need more time to think about it and try a few things on the laptop, so if anyone has any ideas in the meantime, by all means share.

imaginos Author

Level 1

6 points

May 27, 2011 5:50 AM in response to noondaywitch

Thanks, Witch. I'll try and do some searches as well, although it is a work morning here in the US, might be later before I can do any more research. I'm not opposed to rebuilding accounts, just not sure if that is the right thing to do.

Thanks again for everyone's help. This forum is among the best on the net for getting help!

Jim

May 27, 2011 3:02 PM in response to imaginos

Well, it's bedtime over here and I haven't had a chance to try my ideas out on my MacBook. As I can't guarantee to be able to find the time tomorrow either, I'll outline my thinking and offer it for your consideration and third-party comment.

Speculation:

Whoever enabled the root account also deleted the other accounts but left the home folders archived (default option when deleting an account).

Proposed recovery action:

Create a new account with the exact same long name and short name as one of the admin accounts.

At this point I'm hoping to see a dialogue box saying that an account with that name already exists and do I want to use that account for the newly created one. If it does appear, OK that and proceed to do the same for the other accounts.

Log out and log back in as one of the admins, check that all is well with the account (don't worry if some basic settings such as date and time need resetting; that's due to resetting the PRAM earlier). Repeat for the other accounts.

When satisfied that the accounts are as they should be, log back in as the main admin account (presumably yours), and disable the root user.

How to disable the root user

Mac OS X v10.6 and later

From the Apple menu choose System Preferences....

From the View menu choose Accounts.

Click on the lock and authenticate with an administrator account.

Click Login Options....

Click the "Edit..." or "Join..." button at the bottom right

Click the "Open Directory Utility..." button.

Click the lock in the Directory Utility window.

Enter an administrator account name and password, then click OK.

Choose Disable Root User from the Edit menu.

I emphasise again; I have not been able to try this for myself yet. If the expected dialogue doesn't appear you may have to recreate the accounts from scratch. It may be possible to move data from the archived folders to a new account (you'll need to be logged in as root still to do this) but expect it to require the permissions changing on the old account data.

Up to you if you want to try this, and I'd welcome feedback from others out there.

imaginos Author

Level 1

6 points

May 27, 2011 6:24 PM in response to noondaywitch

Witch, your concept above was validated by Apple Care. They had me do exactly what you suggested above. Steps they walked me through:

Logon root account.
Create admin account using the same name as the admin account home folder.
Insert start up disc, restart from disc.
Go into Disk Utility from the disc (not the HD) and choose the option "repair disc". There were some errors about threads and volume I didn't really understand, but at the end a "repair successful" message appeared in the log window and the Apple Care tech said all was good.
Restart using HD.
Log on to the admin account I created in step 2 and disable root using basically the instructions you mention in your last post above.
Create my other standard accounts using the same name as the standard account home folders for our four family members.
Logon to each standard account and check files availability.

Thanks to you, Pierre and others for helping through this rather frustrating ordeal. I likely would not have resolved this so quickly had it not been for you all. The tech had no idea how this occurred and I'll probably never know.

Thanks again!

Jim

May 28, 2011 1:18 AM in response to imaginos

Glad to see it's all sorted, and thanks for the feedback.

You are, of course, most welcome.

iMac Logon Issue: "Other" Account