Inherited an iMac from my late uncle. His user password is unknown, so how can I log in?

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Level 1

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Inherited an iMac from my late uncle. His user password is unknown, so how can I log in?

My uncle passed away a few years ago and my aunt gave me his iMac. How can I unlock it and log in without knowing what his user password was? Is there a way to "reset" it? I purchased an operating system upgrade, but cannot install it without being able to log in as the admin.

Posted on May 20, 2018 12:03 AM

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Answer 1

babowa

Level 9

78,656 points

May 22, 2018 2:22 PM in response to cew588

The recovery option is only available on machines 2012 and newer and you need to use command & option & R for internet recovery. After erasing the drive, it will install the original OS. That is the only way to disassociate the machine from the previous owner. If it is from 2011 or earlier, you will need the install disks.

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Answer 2

May 20, 2018 12:17 AM in response to cew588

Yes, there is. Turn the iMac on and press and hold Cmd + R. MacOS Recovery will start up. From there you can erase the content of the hard drive and re-install MacOS. (I guess this works if there's no firmware password or FileVault).

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Inherited an iMac from my late uncle. His user password is unknown, so how can I log in?

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