Mavericks guest user password.

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Mavericks guest user password.

When I try to use the guest account from the login screen (without password, as per documentation), I am refused. No obvious guess of a password works either. How can I activate the guest user account? I went to System Preferences, but the Guest User pane has no facility to choose a password. Please help.

I also tried to set up a second "Guest Account 2" with blank password (getting a query as to whether I really wanted that). Strangely, this account never appeared on the login screen, and when I looked for it in Users and Groups, it was not there. However, when I tried to set it up again, I got a red erroe message, saying that this name was already taken by another user. Confused.

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Oct 29, 2013 11:41 AM

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Answer 1

prhnz Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 4, 2013 6:47 PM in response to prhnz

A lengthy (and patient - thanks a lot, Jeffrey! - as well as knowledgeable) session with AppleCare solved the problem. Without being able to retrace all the technicalities that led to the solution, the source of the problem appears to have stemmed from the migration from my previous macbook to the new imac (hence not mavericks specific).

I had not done a full migration, but selected only the applications to be transferred. It appears that in the process a whole folder of duplicate application files was created (residing in an unnamed folder inside the Applications folder). There were thus two copies of "System Preferences" which interfered with each other with weird consequences.

(One of the System Preferences opened from the dock, the other from the apple menu.) Sorry that I am unable to give a step by step remedy.

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Answer 2

Dec 17, 2013 6:32 AM in response to prhnz

I encountered the same problem as prhnz above, but after conducting a search, did not find two copies of the System Preferences application on my computer.

However, I did find that navigating to System Preferences, then turning off Guest User access, and then turning it back on, ... and then closing the lock in the bottom left corner, solved the issue.

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Answer 3

naz10

Level 1

4 points

May 22, 2014 6:34 AM in response to steven.bohme

thanks, steven.bohme. i had the same problem and your solution worked perfectly.

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