How do I change the passwords on my MacBook?
Bought a second hand MacBook and trying to add a password protection on the computer - any idea how to do this?
MacBook
Bought a second hand MacBook and trying to add a password protection on the computer - any idea how to do this?
MacBook
Go to System Preferences > Users > enter in a password
Go to System Preferences > Users > enter in a password
What if I dont have the old password?
You'll need to reset your Macbook.
Reset Mac Password – without a CD
Using a pretty nifty trick you can reset a forgotten Mac password without a Mac OS X installer CD/DVD. The steps may seem a little intimidating at first but I assure you it’s easy if you follow them exactly, here is exactly how to do this in three stages:
Stage 1) Boot into Single User Mode and remove a setup file
fsck -fy
mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.applesetupdone
Stage 2) Create a New User Account upon System Boot
You aren’t finished, but the hard part is now over – no more command lines, you’ll now be in the familiar Mac OS X GUI to finish the password reset process. In this step we just create a new user account as if you just got a new Mac:
Stage 3) Reset the Forgot Password via System Preferences
You are almost done, now you just need to reset the forgotten user account password using the Accounts control panel:
Optional: If you’d like, you can delete the temporary account you created to reset the users password. This is wise for security purposes.Here’s how this works: by deleting the .applesetupdone file, you are telling Mac OS X to re-run the setup wizard, which by default creates a new user account with Administrative abilities, which can then reset the forgotten password of any other user on the Mac. This is a great trick and excellent troubleshooting technique if you don’t have a Mac OS X installer CD/DVD laying around, which is pretty much the norm as many people tend to lose or misplace the installer disks that come with their computers. I have used this exact method multiple times to restore various Macs with forgotten/lost passwords.
Reset Mac Password – with the installer CD/DVD
Resetting a forgotten Mac password is easier if you have an installer disk handy, we have covered this tip before on it’s own:
How do I change the passwords on my MacBook?