How can I delete an item from Keychain the dealer installed?

I mistakenly deleted System keychain in Library/Keychains mistaking the advice in Password problems (delete the Master Password keychain file (/Library/Keychains/FileVaultMaster.keychain). I lost contact with my Time Machine, so I couldn't go to an earlier version of the day. I hooked up the HD of a Time Capsule that failed some months ago and recovered System.keychain--and login.keychain from user/library/keychains, which I had also goofed up. There were some passwords changes in the meantime, but I have recovered/changed most of these, and I recovered the use of login-passwords so that Mail works. Some problems remain. The main one is that my Time Machine icon in the menu bar is dimmed out. When I option click TM in Dock, "You haven’t selected a location for Time Machine backups" appears with a set up TM dialog, which I check, choosing my Data on TC as target and choose Connect. It tries to connect and keeps trying--but does not connect.

The password entered leads to System keychain to Alan-Ebis-Time-Capsule.local; kind, Time Machine password. I have access to this item. I have seemingly been able to change it to the new password, and saved it--but when I open it again the password is unchanged. The TM icon in the Menu Bar remains dimmed as TM fails to connect to TC.

Early 2006 iMac; OS 10.6.8 with no Apple software not installed

I was able access the TC set-up in Airport Utility after a hard reset, then powering it down, restarting it along with the cable modem and iMac. “Public” was accepted as a password but later a Systems Keychain password was called for and denied. I have recently lost the ability to access any Systems’ password. I tried unsuccessfully to change these passwords, to change them to the present login password. (They are the passwords in effect when I brought the iMac in for a new HD. They seemed to accept the change, saved it, but when I checked back they were unchanged. Seemingly there is another level of password above mine. But Systems have stopped accepting my password: when entered my password a pop-up appears, “kcproxy wants to use ‘System’ keychain,” enter keychain password. My present Keychain password fails and a pop-up appears, “Access . . . restricted.”

TC was on the way to being reconfigured until this Key Chain problem again blocked it. Since I know the passwords that are in them I know something else is involved. The dealer who installed my new hard drive put a password entry in my Keychain System file without my permission, programmed so that it can’t be removed or changed. This does bear a fairly trojan-like semblance. This program has disabled my Systems file when I attempted to remove the entry. It made the TC, bought 1/4/12, unusable. I am not sure that Apple is on the hook for this; I will check in with them. If only I could access the TC I could probably exchange the supporting data. . . .

No one has responded to my case. I’ve followed the related discussions. I turn on FileVault--Keychain is in the home folder--but the master password was of no use. I’ve turned it off. If no on has a bright idea, I’ll check in with Apple on the guarantee.

See "My System Keychain Is Empty." I think I reached a conclusion to this tale there: + for me a check out of the TC, which is warrantee, keeping old iMac (I'm getting a new one quite soon) as a WiFi connected roamer which can be used in any room--if it can be debugged by the authorized repair establishment and checked out as to its health. --Oh, and I had to use the OS disk trick to change my password when I was getting refused when I entered it. The only way I could get to it was to slip the disk in the slot during a power button restart and then quickly hold down C.

It has been a long time. Let me catch you up. I got rid of the Systems.keychain of the installer by dancing between copies I made of the OS on two different extra HDDs. Unfortunately there is a watchdog in Unix that has been causing all of the trouble. It took over administrative priviledges and left me read permission on everything that counted. Changing my password via the install disk did nothing to change this. I still had my password but it had been upstaged. I occassionally had to change it again. The demon in Darwin protected itself by generating spurious error messages when a program attempts to get at it. At one point I was locked out, able to start the computer only by doing an option start to one of my HDDs connected by USB.

I have reinstalled the OS on the main drive and am back in again. I was able to regain access to Time Capsule, but all of my choices along the line were not good ones. The system changes I made cut me off from the older backups that would open the way to going back before the trouble started. The demon is fairly quiet now; I have reinstalled its master's Systems.keychain. I checked its password. It's when I tried to change it my own that the trouble started. I will not do that again!

I am hoping to get a new iMac as soon as they come out. I will avoid contact with the present one. The demon has infected everything that has come in contact with in at least in some degree. There are files on backups that are "mine" in their permissions and keep them if I transfer them to the iMac. I will probably remove the TC HD and put in a new one. I plan on mounting the old one via USB and to check if the time previous to the "event" is clean. I think it will be. My system is a mess. Console does not make pleasant reading. If any has a suggestion, I will be grateful.