Want to highlight a helpful answer? Upvote!

Did someone help you, or did an answer or User Tip resolve your issue? Upvote by selecting the upvote arrow. Your feedback helps others! Learn more about when to upvote >

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Stubborn Guest User from Pre-Lion Days

Please read this carefully before responding. There's a lot of misunderstandings about guest users.


I don't have the guest user enabled in my Lion install (10.7.1) and never have.


I'm the only user on my computer. I don't have the root user enabled.


Therefore, at the log-in screen, I'm the only account should be seen. Not what happens...


At the log-in screen, my username and icon is listed, but there's another blank user listed--for a guest user that I believes dates back to Leopard. However, there is no login that works for that user (password or not).


If I do enable a guest user on my Lion computer, I get a third icon in the log-in window--one for me, one for the phantom guest user from pre-Lion days, and third one for a Lion guest user.


I want to remove that phantom guest user from pre-Lion days. Enabling and disabling guest user in Lion has no effect, because that's separate from this old guest user. What do I do. I only want to my username and icon at the log-in screen.


Hope you can help. It's trivial but annoying.

Mid-2011 13-inch MacBook Air-OTHER, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Oct 1, 2011 10:12 AM

Reply
9 replies

Oct 12, 2011 9:21 PM in response to Scott Newman

I think I have the same issue as you......I have a "guest user" at the log in screen but i dont have one activated. When I first installed lion 10.7.1 it wasnt there but randomly showed up today after installing a new lion update that enables icloud.....I dont know why the guest user started showing up at log in. Does this phantom guest user you speak of talk about using safai only when you click on it?? thtas what mine says....

Oct 12, 2011 10:36 PM in response to xTheKrulesallx

Yes, I have exactly the same.


But I think I found the answer: I upgraded yesterday to iCloud on my iOS devices (iPhone 4 and iPad 2) as well as both my Macs (mid-2009 MBP and 2011 iMac). I did a software update on the MBP first and enabled iCloud and its services. Upon reboot, I noticed this new guest account, despite me having disabled the guest account function in my System Preferences. My iMac (which at the time was not yet updated) did not have this.


When I did update my iMac and activated iCloud, it did exactly the same and showed the mysterious guest account. Now, here is the probable solution: I noticed that the guest account appeared once I enable the "Find my Mac" option in the iCloud preference pane of your System Preferences! So try to disable the "Find my Mac" option, then reboot and see if the guest account still appears. If it doesn't, then we know that this option is the culprit. But I suspect that for "Find my Mac" to work, it needs to have this specific guest account enabled as well as part of the option.


So I think you will have to decide between having this guest account and "Find my Mac" working, or disabling "Find my Mac" and not have the guest account.

Oct 14, 2011 4:55 AM in response to Scott Newman

Solution:


  • Open System Preferences
  • Click on “Security & Privacy”
  • Click the lock in the lower corner and type in your administrative password to unlock the control panel
  • Check the box next to “Disable restarting to Safari when screen is locked”


From: http://osxdaily.com/2011/10/13/disable-guest-user-account-mac-os-x-10-7-2-login- screen/


@Chris, you beat me to it.


Message was edited by: Adrian Jean

Oct 14, 2011 12:44 PM in response to Scott Newman

Same problem here too.


After installing the 10.7.2 update i noticed quite a few of my System Preferences changed their settings, all by themselves.


And now the Guest User is enabled at log in. I have never used a Guest Account for as long as i can remember.


Must be a problem with 10.7.2


Hey, thanks!! As soon as I had typed my bit and submitted it, the answer was kindly given and i disabled that setting and it works. Many thanks!


Message was edited by: euromikeym69

Stubborn Guest User from Pre-Lion Days

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.