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G3 clamshell iBook...can't get past my log in page

Hello,

I believe my clamshell is a G3. I have had it for years but recently had some issues with the power cord so by the time I bought another power supply, I can't remember my password I used. I have tried virtually every single password I have ever used in my life with no success. It used to do the thing where it gave you three chances before giving you a hint to what your password was but for some reason I think it got turned off because now you can enter a password in as many times as you like and it will just shake the box back and forth to indicate its not the right password. I am at my wits end. I really need to gain access again because it does contain some important documents to me not to mention I was looking forward to being able to use my laptop again after not being able to for so long. I have all the software discs but I don't know if I am supposed to be holding or pressing any of the keys while it loads. Can someone please help me figure out a way to break past my log in screen so that I can change my password to something I remember???? Thanks in advance. Any advice is appreciated.

iBook, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on Dec 26, 2012 7:37 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Dec 27, 2012 12:41 AM

Hello and welcome to the support community


The only way you can reset your password is using the disk that was supplied with your iBook.


This will depend also on what version of Mac OS your iBook is running. These iBook would have been installed with Mac OS X 9.0 or 9.1 or 9.2. If it has not bene upgraded to Mac OS X, then you can do the following:


Boot from the System Disc by holding down X when you start the system up.


2. If you've got multiple users set up then navigate to Macintosh HD:System Folder:Extensions:Multi-User (The multiple users folder.) and move the files in there to your desktop.


3. Head to the Macintosh HD:System Folder:Preferences and move the multi-user preference files and once you reboot the system after that, you will be able to create a new account.


4. Reboot.


5. After the reboot, you should move everything back into place except for the preference files.


As you can see resetting your Mac OS 9 password is a fairly easy process. As I mentioned above in a lot of cases users will not get locked out of their Mac using Mac OS 9


If you have Mac OS X installed and have the Mac OS X install disk:


Insert the disk into the drive and restart the computer.

As soon as you hear the chime when your computer is booting up, hold down the "C" key. If the "C" key does not boot from the disk, than try holding down the "option" key instead.

Once you have booted from disk, the OS X installer window should be on screen.

Go ahead and click continue in the first box that pops up. Next, look at the toolbar located at the very top of the screen. You will see numerous options. Choose either installer menu, or the apple menu (depending on which OS disk version you are using). Under one of the top menus, you should find an option to reset your password. After you have selected reset password, it will ask you to select your hard drive. Select the hard drive and select your administer account name from the dropdown menu.

Enter your new password, verify and click reset.


I hope this helps

3 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Dec 27, 2012 12:41 AM in response to Rwhite3

Hello and welcome to the support community


The only way you can reset your password is using the disk that was supplied with your iBook.


This will depend also on what version of Mac OS your iBook is running. These iBook would have been installed with Mac OS X 9.0 or 9.1 or 9.2. If it has not bene upgraded to Mac OS X, then you can do the following:


Boot from the System Disc by holding down X when you start the system up.


2. If you've got multiple users set up then navigate to Macintosh HD:System Folder:Extensions:Multi-User (The multiple users folder.) and move the files in there to your desktop.


3. Head to the Macintosh HD:System Folder:Preferences and move the multi-user preference files and once you reboot the system after that, you will be able to create a new account.


4. Reboot.


5. After the reboot, you should move everything back into place except for the preference files.


As you can see resetting your Mac OS 9 password is a fairly easy process. As I mentioned above in a lot of cases users will not get locked out of their Mac using Mac OS 9


If you have Mac OS X installed and have the Mac OS X install disk:


Insert the disk into the drive and restart the computer.

As soon as you hear the chime when your computer is booting up, hold down the "C" key. If the "C" key does not boot from the disk, than try holding down the "option" key instead.

Once you have booted from disk, the OS X installer window should be on screen.

Go ahead and click continue in the first box that pops up. Next, look at the toolbar located at the very top of the screen. You will see numerous options. Choose either installer menu, or the apple menu (depending on which OS disk version you are using). Under one of the top menus, you should find an option to reset your password. After you have selected reset password, it will ask you to select your hard drive. Select the hard drive and select your administer account name from the dropdown menu.

Enter your new password, verify and click reset.


I hope this helps

Dec 27, 2012 10:55 AM in response to Knucklesmac

Hi. Well my iBook has Mac OS X on it. I have already tried holding the C key down but it did nothing except went to the log in screen after booting up as usual. So I restarted it and tried holding down the option key. It still did the same thing. I am using the software discs that came with my iBook and my cd drive is working properly because I can hear it running when I insert the cd. Maybe I'm not holding it down at the appropriate time because my computer doesn't make a chime at the beginning. So I am just starting to hold the key down when I first see the grey screen pop up when it is booting up. Also how long do I need to hold down the key? I have been holding it down from the start all the way to the log in screen because nothing else happens.

Dec 29, 2012 1:50 PM in response to Rwhite3

I tend to hold the 'C' key down the moment the computer boots. (You can even do so when you push the power on button) Which disks are you using? Are they the orginal iBook disks that came with the iBook when it was first purchased? The reason for asking is, the later Mac OS X disk did come in DVD format. Unless your iBook is the 466Mhz with the DVD drive, it wont accept DVD disks. So I'm just try to eliminate the possibilities of the disk being DVD.

G3 clamshell iBook...can't get past my log in page

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