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)
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.
Thank you for your response. Do you know any way to reset without a disc?
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.
I have forgotten my administer account password
