forgot password on mac computer
My kids are locked out of their computer because the power went down the other night and when they went to turn it back on they couldn't remember the password. How do you reset the password from the startup?
If you have the install disk you can do this.
- Start up from a Mac OS X Install disc (one whose version is closest to the version of Mac OS X installed). Usually, you can start from the disc by putting it in your computer, restarting, and holding the C key. Or, put it in the computer and click the Install or Restore icon you see in the disc's main window (after which the computer will start from the disc without you needing to hold C). Or, you can use Startup Manager or the Startup Disk preference pane to select the Install disc.
- Choose a language, click the arrow button to continue,
- Mac OS X v10.6 or later: Choose Password Reset from the Utilities menu.
Mac OS X v10.5 or v10.4: Choose Reset Password from the Utilities menu.
Mac OS X v10.3: Choose Reset Password from the Installer menu.
Tip: If you don't see this menu or menu choice, you're probably not started from the disc yet.
Note: The default keyboard layout is U.S. English while started from the installation disc. If you use a keyboard layout other than U.S English, use the Input menu (the flag icon on the right side of the menu bar) to select the desired layout before typing a new password. - Select your Mac OS X hard disk volume.
- Select the user name of your original administrator account.
Important: Do not select "System Administrator (root)". This is actually the root user. You should not confuse it with a normal administrator account.
