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Master Password Fails to Reset Individual Password (CSSM_ERRCODE_MEMORY_ERROR)

This problem appears to be similar to the thread below where user Linc Davis provided the correct solution.


I can login to OS X Lion but can't login to one of my user accounts, which has file vault. If I try to change the password, I get "CSSM_ERRCODE_MEMORY_ERROR".


My friend has an older Macbook running OS X 10.5.8. His account (/Users/davidreaves) uses FileVault and he has forgotten his password. He does remember his master password, which is accepted from the main login/reset password window and pops up another window to allow an individual account password reset. However, the individual password reset fails with no information as to why.


I followed instructions from another source that allowed me to go through the initial Macbook setup sequence and create a new user account with administrative privileges. From there, I went to System Preferences -> Accounts and attempted to reset the password on his personal account using the master password. This attempt also failed, but with a pop-up error message that reads


Reset password failed.

CSSM_ERRCODE_MEMORY_ERROR


After searching this forum, I discovered the thread above and was following the instructions given by user Linc Davis up until the results diverged. Davis asks the OP to execute


sudo find / -xdev -name *.sparse*


When I do that, the result is


/Users/.davidreaves/davidreaves.sparsebundle


Since this sparsebundle file was found in a different location from the OP's in the other thread, I don't know what, if anything, to do to proceed. Can anyone guide me through the remainder of the process to recover this account using the master password? Many thanks!

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Jan 1, 2016 2:28 PM

Reply
23 replies

Jan 1, 2016 3:18 PM in response to BDAqua

(Thanks, if I knew how to contact Linc Davis, I would.)


The difference is that in the Jan 13, 2012 10:38 AM post, Davis first asks the OP to execute the following commands


user=davidreaves # I substituted my friend's username here

sudo ls -l /Users/{,.}$user/$user.sparsebundle


Although this fails for the OP, it works for me and yields the following


donald-hawkinss-macbook:~ donaldhawkins$ user=davidreaves

donald-hawkinss-macbook:~ donaldhawkins$ sudo ls -l /Users/{,.}$user/$user.sparsebundle

Password:

ls: /Users/davidreaves/davidreaves.sparsebundle: No such file or directory

/Users/.davidreaves/davidreaves.sparsebundle:

total 256

-rw------- 1 davidreaves staff 499 Apr 16 2009 Info.bckup

-rw------- 1 davidreaves staff 499 Apr 16 2009 Info.plist

drwx------ 10605 davidreaves staff 360570 Apr 28 2015 bands

-rw------- 1 davidreaves staff 122880 Jun 21 2013 token

donald-hawkinss-macbook:~ donaldhawkins$


The OP found their sparse bundle file in /.Trashes/* and was advised to move it back to the "/Users directory. Since my sparse bundle file is still in /Users (albeit in a hidden directory), I don't know what to do. Thanks!

Jan 2, 2016 9:18 AM in response to Delta210

Might be a while before you hear from Davis.


A suggestion. If you have a trusted backup, two even for redundancy, see what happens by removing the preceding hiding dot. Since I have two trusted backups (clones) this is something I'd be willing to give a shot, since I could always restore a clone, should something go wrong. To do this--if you haven't already--unhide that sparse bundle using defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true ; killall Finder (to revert to hidden, change true to false.)

Next, make a copy of that hidden sparse bundle, right-click-->Duplicate (might take a bit of time), and drag the copy onto the Desktop. Doing this will allow you to remove the preceding dot. Remove the dot, along with "copy" and then drag it back into your Users. Next, move the original to the Trash (DO NOT EMPTY the Trash, as you can always restore the original by using Put Back.) Your are using the Finder to do this, but shouldn't be a problem with Ownership, since you are the owner.

Could use BatchMod to be sure the rest of the ownership and permissions are the same. Change them to what they should be if not.

http://www.lagentesoft.com/batchmod/index.html

Jan 2, 2016 10:46 AM in response to WZZZ

Thank you for the suggestion, WZZZ.


I realize that I do need a solid backup before attempting anything serious. It turns out that I've got a thumb drive bigger than his HDD. 🙂 So, I'll use that with Time Machine today. Tomorrow I'll pick up an external HDD and use Time Machine to make a second backup of the system. (It occurred to me that even though I can't see my friend's files, Time Machine will still back them all up.) It will likely be 2 PM Central time tomorrow before I am back home and have the second backup done. Thanks for your patience.

Jan 2, 2016 11:48 AM in response to WZZZ

I've got the Master Password, which should allow a reset of my friend's account, but is failing. That's the key. Meanwhile, with a couple of backups, I can at least try suggestions for getting the Master Password reset feature to work without fear of losing all.


Speaking of which, I recalled that I had a couple of loose 500 GB drives lying around. I formatted one and am using it to make the first Time Machine backup via USB adapter. As soon as it's done, I'll do the same with the other 500 GB drive. So, I should be ready to try some of those suggestions a little later today instead of waiting until tomorrow. 🙂

Jan 2, 2016 12:32 PM in response to Delta210

I like clones. No experience with TM. Difference is you can't boot from TM, but can from CCC, plus easier to find files/folders on a clone, since it will be an exact duplicate of the boot drive. Since you have some extra drives around: I use Carbon Copy Cloner. It has a 30 day free trial.


https://bombich.com/kb/ccc4/how-does-free-30-day-trial-work


Download


https://bombich.com/download


Or, completely free, just use DiskUtility-->Restore, with source as boot volume and Destination the formatted drive. But, unlike CCC (or SuperDuper) after first full restore/clone, can't be used just to back up incrementally only what's new.

User uploaded file

Jan 2, 2016 4:36 PM in response to WZZZ

OK, I've got a clone and I've tested that it's bootable. I tried making a copy of the sparsebundle, but there wasn't enough space. (I should have seen this coming because my buddy isn't a computer guy and let the disk get nearly full i.e. there's only 8 GB free). Is there any reason why I couldn't try using sudo to move ".davidreaves" to "davidreaves"?

Master Password Fails to Reset Individual Password (CSSM_ERRCODE_MEMORY_ERROR)

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