private penguin

Q: I have forgotten my administer account password

I have a computer which my sisters use and there are two accounts. There is only one administer account and they have forgotten their password. I want to reset the computer to factory settings but I am unable to do so without that password. What can I do?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Oct 17, 2015 10:23 PM

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Q: I have forgotten my administer account password

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  • by Klaus1,

    Klaus1 Klaus1 Oct 18, 2015 3:11 AM in response to private penguin
    Level 8 (48,888 points)
    Oct 18, 2015 3:11 AM in response to private penguin

    Resetting or changing a password:

     

    For Snow Leopard or earlier:  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1274

     

    If it's running Mac OS X 10.6.8 or earlier, insert a Mac OS X install DVD, restart with the Option key held down, click on it, and use the Reset Password utility.

  • by private penguin,

    private penguin private penguin Oct 18, 2015 11:14 PM in response to Klaus1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 18, 2015 11:14 PM in response to Klaus1

    Thank you for your response. Do you know any way to reset without a disc?

  • by Klaus1,

    Klaus1 Klaus1 Oct 19, 2015 2:56 AM in response to private penguin
    Level 8 (48,888 points)
    Oct 19, 2015 2:56 AM in response to private penguin

    You could try this:

     

      1. Power on or restart your Mac.

      2. At the chime (or grey screen if your chime is turned off), hold down Command+S on your keyboard to enter single-user mode.

      3. This step is optional, but it’s a good idea because it checks the consistency of the hard disk before moving on. At the prompt, type fsck -fy and press Enter/Return. Wait for the checks to complete before going to the next step.

      4. Type mount -uw / and press Enter.

      5. Type launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plistand press Enter.

      6. Type ls /Users and press Enter. This lists all of the usernames on the computer – helpful if you don’t know or remember what these are.

      7. Type dscl . -passwd /Users/username password and replace “username” with one of the users displayed in the previous step. Replace “password” with a new password of your choice. Press Enter.

      8. Type reboot and press Enter.