I got a free eMac from a tech-recycling program, but I don’t know the admin password. It was on auto login when I got it, so I have my own account but still need admin access. Help!
You can reset the admin password easily using the install disc for your particular OS version. If you don’t have the disc, they can be had on auction sites like eBay, or you can check to see if there’s a Mac User Group (MUG) in your area that might be able to help.
To get your system version, click on the Apple menu > About This Mac. You’ll need the Mac OS X disc for that version. Many eBay listings will not list the particular version number, and instead list only the cat name. In that case, you can match up your version number with the corresponding cat:
Place the installer disc in the Mac and reboot while holding down the C key until the computer reboots into the Mac OS X installer. After selecting your language, in the menu bar click Utilities > Password Reset, or Reset Password (for earlier versions). If you’re using Mac OS X Panther, the Reset Password option is listed under the Installer menu.
In the resulting pop-up window, select the hard drive volume (usually “Macintosh HD”), and then select your user from the pop-up menu. Next, enter a new password, then type it again to confirm it. You can optionally enter a password hint for the user account. When you are done, click on the Save button.
If you are using Cheetah (10.0), Puma (10.1), or Jaguar (10.2), the steps to reset your password are different. Follow the guide on Apple’s support site to get the instructions for your particular version here.
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fredbooth
October 10, 2011 at 6:23am
If you don't have a boot disc, you can do without it, by booting into Single-User mode (command-s during startup). It's pretty technical but explained in detail here over at oggcastplanet.org/unstable but I can't paste the link it because the spam filter prevents it. So, I'll paste in the text instead.
I had to do it for a G5 I got from a friend, and it was easy. Getting the name of the harddrive is a bit confusing, but trial and error prevailed.
---begin paste
Reboot and after POST, hold down Command-s
This boots to single-user mode, so you're root.
Then mount the harddrive; usually this is the second slice of the first harddisk:
# mount /dev/rdisk0s2 /mnt
But if that doesn't work you can always do an ls /dev/rdisk* and try mounting others.
Now that the filesystem is mounted, you can manipulate user accounts. Pick the admin user or who ever you want to screw over or help fix their computer or whatever, and do the usual:
# passwd (insert the administrator short name here)
New Unix Password: (type in your new password here)------end pasted text
That's not my tip (so don't blame me if it don't work!), it's from the blog I refer to, credit goes to blogger "Klaatu".
