Forgot Administrator Password

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Level 1

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Forgot Administrator Password

My son forgot the administrator password for Mac Pro tower computer that he recently acquired. It is model 1186-2113. I have no experience with Apple since my Apple II Plus back in the 80's. When we boot the system we get what I guess is a user login screen with Administrator displayed and a place to enter the password. Mouse works and keyboard works but of course that doesn't help. I have tried holding "apple" key and "s" key simultaneously when booting to go into single user mode (found these instructions for resetting admin password on internet) but then nothing ever displays on screen and the status light on the monitor indicates not connected. Turning monitor off and on has no effect. I checked video card and it is not one of the ones listed for this model of the mac pro. It's an AMD Radeon 6700. Specs for this mac pro model lists Nvidia GE Force 7300 GT as the standard video card. I couldn't find one of these cards but was able to acquire a Nvidia GE Force 7900 GT at a used computer equipment store. Unfortunately, when it is installed and we boot the system the monitor never gets connected. Don't know if I'm barking up the wrong tree with the video card. Would appreciate any help I can get on solving this problem.

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on May 2, 2015 6:16 PM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

239,045 points

May 2, 2015 11:00 PM in response to tomzmac

Whew!!!???

This what you did?

Reset OS X Password Without an OS X CD...

http://theappleblog.com/2008/06/22/reset-os-x-password-without-an-os-x-cd/

Admin Hack...

http://www.hackmac.org/?q=node/4

Starts up like the first time you buy a new Mac, but after filling in all that info again, you should have access to the computer and the other Users & files will still be there... give the new User a different name than an existing one.

Or if you haveInstall Dic...

1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.

2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Utilities from the Installer menu at the top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)

Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access the Menubar at top.

1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.

2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Reset Password from the Installer menu at the top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)

Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Reset Password.

Reset Password 10.7, 10.8, 10.9...

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20087723-263/how-to-run-the-password-reset- utility-in-os-x-10.7-lion/

Then Reset your Keychain...

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1544

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Answer 2

tomzmac Author

Level 1

0 points

May 3, 2015 12:54 AM in response to BDAqua

My basic problem is that I can't see anything on my monitor screen when i interrupt the boot sequence using the command key and the "s" key. I know the process is successfully interrupted and i can key in the commands blindly but after i blindly key in the "shutdown now" or "reboot" commands, I still eventually get back to the same gray screen with the administrator login prompt. And of course I don't know the correct password. So my first problem is why do I not see anything on my monitor screen when I interrupt the boot sequence?

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Answer 3

To_Mi

Level 4

1,202 points

May 3, 2015 11:12 AM in response to tomzmac

tomzmac wrote:

My basic problem is that I can't see anything on my monitor screen when i interrupt the boot sequence using the command key and the "s" key. I know the process is successfully interrupted and i can key in the commands blindly but after i blindly key in the "shutdown now" or "reboot" commands, I still eventually get back to the same gray screen with the administrator login prompt. And of course I don't know the correct password. So my first problem is why do I not see anything on my monitor screen when I interrupt the boot sequence?

The PC graphic boards support is not a basic function of Mac but additional function of recent OS X. So, the monitor won't show anything until the function is activated. You needs one of cards supported by the Mac model to see the boot screen. The supported cards by the original Mac Pro are NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT, GeForce 8800 GT, Quadro FX 4500, and ATI Radeon X1900 XT, with special BIOS ( on board software ) for Mac.

Someone may know how to activate the function in single user mode, but I don't know one yet.

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Answer 4

BDAqua

Level 10

239,045 points

May 3, 2015 11:19 AM in response to To_Mi

Ah, great catch, thanks! 🙂

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Answer 5

tomzmac Author

Level 1

0 points

May 3, 2015 11:46 PM in response to To_Mi

Thats what I had guessed was the problem. Will I need a driver for the card to function during the boot sequence or is this a lower level of communication that does not need a driver? If a driver is required, how do I get this loaded since I can't log on to the system, much less get on the internet to download a driver?

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