Forgot my admin account password. I read that I can reset this with my appleID, but even after 3 failed password attempts on the login window, the password hint box is not appearing. I read this sometimes happens with software upgrades to lion. Any way around this???
Try resetting your PRAM and NVRAM: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
If that doesn't work, try resetting your password through single user mode:
/sbin/fsck -fy
/sbin/mount -uw /
Important: Wait until you see the "root#:" prompt before typing a new line.
4. Choose the correct line below for your Operating System. Type the respective command and hit enter when you are done.
For Snow Leopard and Below:
launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist
For Lion and Above:
launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.opendirectoryd.plist
5. Now, type ls /Users
This will list all of the users of your computer.
6. Using the name of the account password you want to reset, type this:
dscl . -passwd /Users/USERNAME NEWPASSWORD
Make sure to type the username exactly as it appears in step 5. For example, if the username is "bob72", and you want to reset the password to be "123", you would type the above command as:
dscl . -passwd /Users/bob72 123
7. After executing the last command in Lion or newer operating systems, the computer may return an error about com.apple.DirectoryServicesLocal.plist. Ignore this message! If you properly typed the commands, the password reset worked anyway.
8. Once root# reappears, type reboot then hit enter. The computer will restart, and the account will have the new password.
9. Unfortunately, this process will cause problems with your keychain unless you suddenly remember your old password. When the keychain error appears, hit RESET KEYCHAIN. You will lose any saved passwords. While this is annoying, it is a necessary security feature.
I hope this helps!
OS X 10.7 Lion, 10.8 MountainLion & 10.9 Mavericks
Reset Password using Recovery HD
Boot into Recovery Partition.
Start the computer,then press and hold down command and R keys to start into recovery partition.
When you see the Apple logo, release the keys.
Wait until OS X Utilities window shows up.
Move the mouse to the menubar at the top and click "Utilities", then select "Terminal"
from the drop down.
Terminal window will appear.
Type in resetpassword and press enter on the keyboard.
Leave the Terminal window open.
Reset Password Utility window will open with Macintosh HD selected.
Select the user account from the popup menu box.
Enter a new password.
Reenter the new password for the user.
Enter a hint.
Click the "Save" button.
Click in the menubar and select Restart.
Log in.
If Keychain dialog box appears, select “Create New Keychain”.
forgot account password, password hint box not appearing?
