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High Sierra Has Switched My Administrator Account To Standard?!

Can anyone help me?

I recently tried to change my username & in the process, which I didn't realise until now was that in doing so it has switched my administrator account to standard. Now I can't make any changes, nor download any software.

I own a MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012) running MacOS High Sierra 10.13.3

I've updated the software for it along with the supplemental one thinking that it would fix it & it hasn't.

Does anyone know how to fix this?

I'm no tech expert & don't want to fiddle about with it too much & make things worse.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers 😟

Posted on Mar 14, 2018 6:43 AM

Reply
11 replies

Mar 21, 2018 8:50 AM in response to orangefromdartford

I don't know why you're having so much trouble. I think the following is likely to just restate what you already did. If it does not work for whatever reason you will need to Contact Apple Support.



Read the lengthy procedure that follows. You should probably print it vs. writing down the steps or trying to repeat it from memory. Don't be put off by the length of the instructions. Some of the steps are optional. It's simple and will only take a few moments.


It is also overly conservative, but I have used it myself recently and I know it will work.



As I understand it, you have a Mac with no Administrator accounts. Of course that is not supposed to be possible, but if that really is the case you can use the following technique to create a new, temporary Administrator account, the sole purpose of which will be to log in as an Administrator that can give your normal account Admin privileges.


There may be other techniques to recover from the "impossible" circumstance in which you find yourself, but the following is one that I have successfully used in the past.


Please read everything that follows before continuing. If you have only the one computer you will need to print this for reference.


Prerequisites:


  • If you have not done so already, create a reliable backup in the event something unexpected occurs.

    To learn how to use Time Machine please read Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support.

  • If you configured an EFI Firmware Passwordthat will preclude recovery, unless you know that password.

    A Firmware Password precludes starting a Mac in single-user Mode, so you will need to temporarily remove it before continuing.

  • If you encrypted your startup volume with FileVault, its password will also be required to unlock the disk.

    That password may or may not be the same login password you have been accustomed to using.

Confirm each of the above prerequisites before continuing.


Then,


  • Power on or restart your Mac.
  • At the chime or grey screen, hold and S on your keyboard (two fingers) to enter single-user mode.
  • At the localhost:/ root# prompt, type


fsck -fy

...and press Return.

This is a simple check for file system integrity and is optional. It may take a few minutes to complete during which time various messages will appear. None of them are relevant unless they indicate some unrecoverable error. Be patient. If you get concerned that the system has stalled or become unresponsive press the Return key. Nothing will happen other than to echo the Return character, advancing the text on the screen, confirming your Mac has not completely frozen.


When the integrity check completes pressing the Return key will result in the localhost prompt again, waiting for your input.


At the localhost:/ root# prompt, type each of the following lines, exactly as written, including capitalization, one line at a time, each line followed by the Return key. There is a single space preceding the first "slash" ( / ) character in each line:


mount -uw /

rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone

reboot


The Mac will restart, and then take you through the entire setup and registration process that you have not seen since you originally unboxed it. Do not be concerned—none of the above deletes any information. All your pre-existing user accounts will still available, assuming they were intact prior to beginning this procedure.


Do not elect to transfer your information from another Mac: When the "Transfer Information to This Mac" screen appears, select "Do not transfer any information now" and press Continue.


At the "Create a Computer Account" screen, create the new, temporary account using a different "Full name" and "Account name" than the one you already use. Remember the password you select. Provide a password hint if you wish. You don't have to sign in to iCloud or anything else you might decide to do if you wanted to use that User Account for anything else.


"Allow this Account to unlock the disk" will be selected by default, so confirm that it is because that's the key to fixing the problem.


When it completes, log in under that new account. Use System Preferences to change your normal account to "Allow user to administer this computer". Log out, log in under your normal account and verify you can use it without restriction.


After that, you can safely delete the temporary account you just created by following these instructions: Delete a user or group - Apple Support. Before removing it, confirm you don't need any of the files you might have created in that Account.

Mar 14, 2018 9:05 AM in response to orangefromdartford

If a firmware password isn’t set on your Mac, you can use Single User Mode to relaunch Setup Assistant, which will prompt you to create a new administrator account.


Hold down Command-S while you restart or turn on your Mac. Release the keys when rapidly moving white text appears on a black screen. If you have FileVault enabled, log in first. When the text stops moving, execute these commands in order, very carefully:


fsck -fy


Wait for your Mac to say “The volume Macintosh HD appears to be ok.”


mount -uw /

rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone

reboot


Your Mac should restart and launch Setup Assistant. You’ll be guided through the steps of making a new administrator account.

High Sierra Has Switched My Administrator Account To Standard?!

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