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Q: I forgot my administator password. How can I reset it?

Hi.. I forgot my apple laptop's administrator password. How do I reset it?

Posted on Oct 2, 2013 5:30 PM

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Q: I forgot my administator password. How can I reset it?

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  • by macjack,

    macjack macjack Oct 2, 2013 5:33 PM in response to prem.citit
    Level 9 (55,682 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 2, 2013 5:33 PM in response to prem.citit
  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Oct 2, 2013 7:32 PM in response to prem.citit
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Oct 2, 2013 7:32 PM in response to prem.citit

    If the user account is associated with an Apple ID, and you know the Apple ID password, then maybe the Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password.

    Otherwise*, boot into Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select

    Utilities Terminal

    from the menu bar. In the window that opens, type this:

    res

    Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:

    resetpassword

    Press return. A Reset Password window opens. Close the Terminal window to get it out of the way.

    Select your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if not already selected.

    Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.

    Follow the prompts to reset the password. It's safest to choose a password that includes only the characters a-z, A-Z, and 0-9.

    Select

    Restart

    from the menu bar.

    You should now be able to log in with the new password, but your Keychain will be reset (empty.) If you've forgotten the Keychain password (which is ordinarily the same as your login password), there's no way to recover it.

    *Note: If you've activated FileVault, this procedure doesn't apply. Follow instead these instructions.