Mac OS X: Changing or resetting an account password

 
  • Last Modified: April 21, 2008
  • Article: HT1274
  • Old Article: 106156
 

Summary

Learn how to change or reset an account password in Mac OS X, including the original administrator account password. You might need to do this, for example, if someone forgot their password.

Tip: If you forget your login password and your home folder is protected by FileVault, see I forgot the password to my encrypted home folder.

 

Products Affected

Mac OS X 10.1, Mac OS X 10.2, Mac OS X 10.3, Mac OS X 10.4, Mac OS X 10.5

Resetting a user's password - Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4 or later

Use Accounts preferences to reset an account password.

  1. Log in with an administrator account. Tip: If you don't know the password of any administrator accounts, see "Resetting the original administrator account password" below.
  2. From the Apple menu choose System Preferences.
  3. From the View menu choose Accounts.
  4. Click the lock button if it appears locked.
  5. Select the username whose password you want to change.
  6. Click the Reset Password button (Mac OS X 10.4 only).
  7. Enter a new password in both the Password and Verify fields, and hint.
  8. Click the Reset Password button (Mac OS X 10.4 only).
  9. If a dialog box appears with the message "Your Keychain password will be changed to your new account password," click OK.

Important: Passwords for administrator accounts should not be blank.

 

Resetting a user's password - Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.2.8

Use Accounts preferences to reset an account password.

  1. Log in with an administrator account. Tip: If you don't know the password of any administrator accounts, see "Resetting the original administrator account password" below.
  2. From the Apple menu choose System Preferences.
  3. From the View menu choose Accounts.
  4. Click the lock button if it appears locked.
  5. Select the username whose password you want to change.
  6. Click Edit User.
  7. Navigate to the New Password field.
  8. Enter a new password in both the Password and Verify fields.
  9. Click OK.
  10. If a dialog box appears with the message "Your Keychain password will be changed to your new account password," click OK.

Important: Passwords for administrator accounts should not be blank.

Regardless of how many characters are actually in a Mac OS X 10.2 password, seven bullet characters (•••••••) will appear in the New Password and Verify fields the next time the password is edited.


Resetting a user's password - Mac OS X 10.1.5 or earlier

Use Users preference pane to reset a user's password.

  1. Log in with an administrator account. Tip: If you don't know the password of any administrator accounts, see "Resetting the original administrator account password" below.
  2. From the Apple menu choose System Preferences.
  3. From the View menu choose Users.
  4. Click the lock button if it appears locked.
  5. Select the username whose password you wish to change.
  6. Click Edit User.
  7. Enter a new password in both the Password and Verify fields.
  8. Click Save.

Important: Passwords for administrator accounts should not be blank.

Regardless of how many characters are actually in the password, thirteen bullet characters (•••••••••••••) will appear in the Password and Verify fields the next time the password is edited.

Resetting the original administrator account password

Follow these steps to reset a password when there is only one administrator account on the computer, or if the original administrator account (of several) needs a password reset. "Original" administrator account refers to the one that was created immediately after installing Mac OS X. If the original administrator password is known, the original administrator user may reset the passwords of other administrator accounts using the steps described above.

  1. Start up from a Mac OS X Install CD (one whose version is closest the the version of Mac OS X installed). You should first disable Open Firmware password protection, if it is enabled. Hold the C key as the computer starts.
  2. Choose Reset Password from the Installer menu (or Utilities menu in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger). Tip: If you don't see this menu or menu choice, you're probably not started from the CD yet.
  3. Select your Mac OS X hard disk volume.
  4. Set the user name of your original administrator account.

    Important: Do not select "System Administrator (root)". This is actually a reference to the root user. Do not confuse it with a normal administrator account.

  5. Enter a new password.
  6. Click Save.

After following these steps, you'll want to also follow the steps in Mac OS X 10.4: Keychain Access asks for keychain "login" after changing login password.

Additional Information

See these articles for more information:

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Reset OS X Password Without an OS X CD

Written on June 22, 2008 by Jenny Kortina and 26 people have commented
 

I wrote about this a while back on my blog, hackaddict, but it was such a popular post I thought I’d give it a revisit. A lot of people buy used Macs, and they often run into the problem of not knowing the admin password, so here is a way to get around not knowing the admin password on Macs.

To reset your OS X password without an OS X CD you need to enter terminal and create a new admin account:

  1. Reboot
  2. Hold apple + s down after you hear the chime.
  3. When you get text prompt enter in these terminal commands to create a brand new admin account (hitting return after each line):
    • mount -uw /
    • rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
    • shutdown -h now
  4. After rebooting you should have a brand new admin account. When you login as the new admin you can simply delete the old one and you’re good to go again!

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http://www.jessecole.org/2008/06/25/mac-os-x-single-user-mode-password-reset/

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/07/17/mac-101-reset-your-mac-os-x-password/

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Mac OS X - Resetting a Forgotten Account Password

 

This document explains how to reset a forgotten account password in Mac OS X.

Warning: Do not use the instructions in this document to reset the password for a FileVault protected account. Doing so may render the contents of the account inaccessible. Instead, follow these instructions provided by Apple.

 

Resetting the Password

To reset a Mac OS X account password, startup the computer using an Apple Software Restore disc (included with newer Macs) or a Mac OS X Install disc. It is best to use the same disc from which OS X was installed. Do not use a disc with a version of OS X other than the one installed on the computer or it may not work. For example, if you reset a password on a computer running Mac OS X 10.3 with an OS X 10.4 disc, you will not be able to log into the account.

Insert the disc, restart the computer, and hold the C key when you hear the startup sound. You can release the key when the gray Apple appears.

Gray Apple at startup

It is normal for the computer to take longer to startup from a CD or DVD. The disc will automatically start the OS X installer but you do not need to reinstall OS X. If you are prompted to select a language and you do not see the menu bar at the top of the screen, click the right arrow button to proceed to the next step.

Select language

The method of resetting passwords varies slightly depending on the version of OS X on the installation disc.

Mac OS X 10.2.x through 10.3.x:
Select Reset Password from the Installer menu.
Installer menu
Mac OS X 10.4.x and 10.5.x:
Choose Reset Password from the Utilities menu.
Utilities menu

The Reset Password window should look similar to this:

Reset Password window

Password reset confirmation

To close the password reset utility, select Quit Reset Password from the Reset Password menu.

Reset Password menu

Restart the computer by choosing Quit Installer from the Installer menu and click Restart or Quit when prompted.

Installer menu

Resetting the Keychain

Resetting an account password does not change the Keychain password. For security reasons, there is no way to reset a forgotten Keychain password and the contents of the keychain cannot be recovered. The Keychain must be deleted so a new one can be created and used.

From the Finder, click on the Go menu and select Home.

Go menu in Finder

In the window that appears, open the Library folder and drag the Keychains folder to the trash.

Restart the computer or log out and log back in. A new keychain will be created using the current account password.

See Also:

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01.

freewheelinStartup Your Mac with an Operating System Disk
 

  • Find the operating system disk that came with your Macintosh or better yet a Mac OS X Install CD whose version is closest the the version of Mac OS X you have installed.
  • Put it inside your disk drive.
  • Restart your computer and hold the C key as the computer starts. You can release the C key when the gray Apple appears.

The computer may take several minutes to boot up off of a CD or DVD. Relax. This is normal. A Macintosh Operating System disk will automatically launch the OS Installer. Do NOT reinstall the OS. Continue to follow the directions below.

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HOWTO: Reset a lost OS X password

I've you've forgotten your Mac's admin account password, don't worry. Assuming you haven't locked out OpenFirmware, it's a pretty simple task to change your password back to something you know.

Here's how:
 

 

If you can't recall your user name, you can either look in the /Users folder (the directories are named by user), or run "niutil -list . /users".

Also, on older systems the /etc/rc script isn't available, apparently. If that second step fails, try mounting and starting the base services manually:

I've had to do this a couple of times for friends when they've bought a second hand machine, and once when I had a momentary brain lapse and forgot my own password. Works like a charm, though you'll loose any passwords stored in your keychain.

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http://www.macosxtips.co.uk/index_files/reset-lost-os-x-account-password.html

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824662