Bought Used macbook pro, don't have administrator password and don't have the OS disc. Is there a way I can reset or delete the password?

I recently bought a used macbook pro. I can pretty much do everything I need on it until I want to change setting and such things. Then it asks me for an administrator password which I do not know or have. On top of that I do not have the OS disc either. Is there a way I can SAFELY reset or delete the password so I can set my own without the possibility of screwing thing up. LIke I said I can do most anything. I figured this out when attempting to tether it to my smartphone for internet access (I do all the time from my desktop but my desktop is a PC so things are a little different) I am a very new mac user, I have always been a devoted PC user until now. I have to say I am really loving my macbook pro I may just stick with mac from now on (if I can get this problem figured out without too much stress.
I am looking for the safest and best way to fix this issue where nothing I do would mess up the laptop. I can use it now and I do not want that to change, I just want to be able to change my setting and set a password of my own. PLEASE HELP, THANX!

Hi
There actually is a slightly easier way in OS X 10.5 or greater.
1. Start up in single-user mode (hold Command-S as the computer starts up).
2. Type: mount -uw /
3. Press Return.
4. Type this:
passwd (user's short name)
Replace "(user's short name)" with the short name of the user account whose password you wish to reset. If you are not sure what the account name is, you can get a list of user names by typing: ls /Users
5. Press Return.
6. Enter a new user password.
7. Press Return.
8. Type: reboot
9. Press Return.

Similar Messages

  • I have a xD-PictureCard that I want to load pictures onto, from my iPhotos.  The reader is a FinePix can I get it to work on the Mac.  when I try it wont install the software.  Is there any way i can load pics onto the SD card.

    I have a xD-PictureCard (SD Card) that works in a picture frame.  I have used it in the past on a Windows computer, now having an apple I want to change the pics and cannot.  When I reload the discs for Mac they won't install.  Is there anything I can do to put the pics on the SD card, I don't want to throw away the picture frame it cost a lot of money.

    This should be perfectly possible and without loading any software at all.
    Get a Card Reader for the XD card, and plug it into the Mac. It will then appear on the desktop. Drg the files to the Card. Make sure you keep the folder structure used on the Card - don't change that.
    Regards
    TD

  • HT204382 hi now i am using macbook pro i was download torrent once i done the vedio i cant watch the vedio so what i want to do can u help me

    hi now i am using macbook pro i was download torrent once i done the vedio i cant watch the vedio so what i want to do can u help me

    Downloading from torrent sites is not necessarily safe - some sites include additions to the things you download. The point is: when something is free which costs money elsewhere, it may not be safe.
    Personally, I would delete the video and make sure my system is still working correctly.

  • HT1338 Purchased a used macbook pro with Mountain Lion. My old Mac runs Snow Leopard is backed up to Time machine. How do I register the operating system to me and how do I use Time Machine to move my files to the new used computer?

    Purchased a used macbook pro with Mountain Lion. My old Mac runs Snow Leopard is backed up to Time machine. How do I register the operating system to me and how do I use Time Machine to move my files to the new used computer?

    If you look at the User Tips tab, you will find a write up on just this subject:
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4053
    The subject of buying/selling a Mac is quite complicated.  Here is a guide to the steps involved. It is from the Seller's point of view, but easily read the other way too:
    SELLING A MAC A
    Internet Recovery, and Transferability of OS & iLife Apps
    Selling an Old Mac:
    • When selling an old Mac, the only OS that is legally transferable is the one that came preinstalled when the Mac was new. Selling a Mac with an upgraded OS isn't doing the new owner any favors. Attempting to do so will only result in headaches since the upgraded OS can't be registered by the new owner. If a clean install becomes necessary, they won't be able to do so and will be forced to install the original OS via Internet Recovery. Best to simply erase the drive and revert back to the original OS prior to selling any Mac.
    • Additionally, upgrading the OS on a Mac you intend to sell means that you are leaving personally identifiable information on the Mac since the only way to upgrade the OS involves using your own AppleID to download the upgrade from the App Store. So there will be traces of your info and user account left behind. Again, best to erase the drive and revert to the original OS via Internet Recovery.
    Internet Recovery:
    • In the event that the OS has been upgraded to a newer version (i.e. Lion to Mountain Lion), Internet Recovery will offer the version of the OS that originally came with the Mac. So while booting to the Recovery Disk will show Mountain Lion as available for reinstall since that is the current version running, Internet Recovery, on the other hand, will only show Lion available since that was the OS shipped with that particular Mac.
    • Though the Mac came with a particular version of Mac OS X, it appears that, when Internet Recovery is invoked, the most recent update of that version may be applied. (i.e. if the Mac originally came with 10.7.3, Internet Recovery may install a more recent update like 10.7.5)
    iLife Apps:
    • When the App Store is launched for the first time it will report that the iLife apps are available for the user to Accept under the Purchases section. The user will be required to enter their AppleID during the Acceptance process. From that point on the iLife apps will be tied to the AppleID used to Accept them. The user will be allowed to download the apps to other Macs they own if they wish using the same AppleID used to Accept them.
    • Once Accepted on the new Mac, the iLife apps can not be transferred to any future owner when the Mac is sold. Attempting to use an AppleID after the apps have already been accepted using a different AppleID will result in the App Store reporting "These apps were already assigned to another Apple ID".
    • It appears, however, that the iLife Apps do not automatically go to the first owner of the Mac. It's quite possible that the original owner, either by choice or neglect, never Accepted the iLife apps in the App Store. As a result, a future owner of the Mac may be able to successfully Accept the apps and retain them for themselves using their own AppleID. Bottom Line: Whoever Accepts the iLife apps first gets to keep them.
    SELLING A MAC B
    Follow these instructions step by step to prepare a Mac for sale:
    Step One - Back up your data:
    A. If you have any Virtual PCs shut them down. They cannot be in their "fast saved" state. They must be shut down from inside Windows.
    B. Clone to an external drive using using Carbon Copy Cloner.
    1. Open Carbon Copy Cloner.
    2. Select the Source volume from the Select a source drop down menu on the left side.
    3. Select the Destination volume from the Select a destination drop down menu on the right
    side.
    4. Click on the Clone button. If you are prompted about creating a clone of the Recovery HD be
    sure to opt for that.
    Destination means a freshly erased external backup drive. Source means the internal
    startup drive. 
    Step Two - Prepare the machine for the new buyer:
    1. De-authorize the computer in iTunes! De-authorize both iTunes and Audible accounts.
    2, Remove any Open Firmware passwords or Firmware passwords.
    3. Turn the brightness full up and volume nearly so.
    4. Turn off File Vault, if enabled.
    5. Disable iCloud, if enabled: See.What to do with iCloud before selling your computer
    Step Three - Install a fresh OS:
    A. Snow Leopard and earlier versions of OS X
    1. Insert the original OS X install CD/DVD that came with your computer.
    2. Restart the computer while holding down the C key to boot from the CD/DVD.
    3. Select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu; repartition and reformat the internal hard drive.
    Optionally, click on the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
    4. Install OS X.
    5. Upon completion DO NOT restart the computer.
    6. Shutdown the computer.
    B. Lion and Mountain Lion (if pre-installed on the computer at purchase*)
    Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because
    it is three times faster than wireless.
    1. Restart the computer while holding down the COMMAND and R keys until the Mac OS X
    Utilities window appears.
    2. Select Disk Utility from the Mac OS X Utilities window and click on the Continue button. 
    3. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the left side list. Click
    on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
    4. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on the Security button
    and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
    5. Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
    6. Quit DU and return to the Mac OS X Utilities window.
    7. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
    8. Upon completion shutdown the computer.
    *If your computer came with Lion or Mountain Lion pre-installed then you are entitled to transfer your license once. If you purchased Lion or Mountain Lion from the App Store then you cannot transfer your license to another party. In the case of the latter you should install the original version of OS X that came with your computer. You need to repartition the hard drive as well as reformat it; this will assure that the Recovery HD partition is removed. See Step Three above. You may verify these requirements by reviewing your OS X Software License.

  • I have a 2009 Macbook Pro with 1T hdd 8GB Ram and ran Maverick without problem...Yosemite installation has me completely frozen, nothing works but the spinning ball...I had to force shutdown last night, and haven't turned it on again...what do you ad

    I have a 2009 Macbook Pro with 1T hdd 8GB Ram and ran Maverick without problem...Yosemite installation has me completely frozen, nothing works but the spinning ball...I had to force shutdown last night, and haven't turned it on again...what do you advise?  During installation emptied cache, etc. Backed up using time machine, fortunately.

    Try these in order testing your system after each to see if it's back to normal:
    1. a. Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
        b. Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
    2. Restart the computer in Safe Mode, then restart again, normally. If this doesn't help, then:
    Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the Utilities menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    3. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
    When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
    4. Reinstall Yosemite: Reboot from the Recovery HD. Select Reinstall OS X from the Utilities menu, and click on the Continue button.
    Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
                because it is three times faster than wireless.
    5. Reinstall Yosemite from Scratch:
    Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
    How to Clean Install OS X Yosemite
    Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
                because it is three times faster than wireless.

  • I don't have a wireless keyboard or mouse for my 2007 iMac, is there any way that can use remote desktop and access it from my 2010mbp.

    i don't have a wireless keyboard or mouse for my 2007 iMac, is there any way that can use remote desktop and access it from my 2010mbp

    Hi champrider,
    You can use an application such as Apple Remote Desktop to control your iMac remotely. See this article -
    OS X Mavericks: Allow access using Apple Remote Desktop
    This help page will provide you with some other useful resources for Apple Remote Desktop -
    Remote Desktop Help
    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
    Best,
    Brett L 

  • I have microsoft outlook installed on my Mac book pro, I can only use the outlook with the office server where it was setup, I can't use outlook else where, is there any way I can reset the settings in order to be able to use outlook every where?

    I have microsoft outlook installed on my Mac book pro, I can only use the outlook with the office server where it was setup, outlook won't work out of office, is there any way I can reset the settings in order to be able to use outlook every where?

    I can see my folders by clicking the X next to my name on the Inbox Folder.  So I have my folders now, just cannot see them in the left colum or see multiple windows on Outlook.  At this point, I can use the folders, just with limited functionality.  Thanks -Gina

  • I just tried to sync calendar on my iPhone 3 (ver. 4.2.1) with my MacBook Pro (Lion ver. 10.7.4). It doesn't sync. Is there any way to do it?

    I just tried to sync calendar on my iPhone 3 (ver. 4.2.1) with my MacBook Pro (Lion ver. 10.7.4). It doesn't sync. Is there any way to do it?

    Have you updated your itunes to the latest version? You have to have itunes to sync the phone to any computer.

  • My friend gave me her ipod about 2 years ago. neither of us know the passcode and now we have no way to link it to the original itunes account. is there a way i can reset it so i can use it?

    my friend gave me her ipod about 2 years ago. neither of us know the passcode and now we have no way to link it to the original itunes account. is there a way i can reset it so i can use it?
    I have tried plugging it in and holding the sleep/wake button and home button at same time and all it does is gives me the "slide to power off" option. Is there anything I can do??? Please Help!
    Message was edited by: Unordinary92

    Try DFU mode and then restore
    How to put iPod touch / iPhone into DFU mode « Karthik's scribblings
    Or try using this program to place the iPod in recovery mode
    RecBoot: Easy Way to Put iPhone into Recovery Mode
    - Next try the manual install method of:
    iDevice Troubleshooting 101 :: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
    Place the iPod in recovery mode after the firmware download is complete and then restore using the instructions in the article. Sometimes recovery mode timeouts and returns to disabled before the firmware download is complete.
    - Then try on another computer

  • Ok i work at a military base and there were iPod touch's given out to some units and I have found one and would like to return it but don't know the owner so is there a way to track a name with the serial number?

    Ok i work at a military base and there were iPod touch's given out to some units and I have found one and would like to return it but don't know the owner so is there a way to track a name with the serial number? Or how can I find out who owns it?

    No. Turn it into the military police.

  • I have purchased Lightroom 5 and had it installed but I had to replace my matchbook pro and now I can't find the activation key - is there a way I can get it emailed to me or how do I find it? Most other plugin's email out the activation key so you have a

    I have purchased Lightroom 5 and had it installed but I had to replace my matchbook pro and now I can't find the activation key - is there a way I can get it emailed to me or how do I find it? Most other plugin's email out the activation key so you have a copy but I have seen no way to get it.

    If you registered your Lightroom with Adobe after you installed it, you can log into your Adobe account and get your serial number from your account.

  • I need to transfer up to 200 pages and keynote files from my macbook to my PC. Is there any way I can convert all of the files to word-friendly documents as a batch change or will I have to open each individual file and re-save it as word-friendly?

    I need to transfer up to two hundred Pages and Keynote files from my macbook running on Mac OS X 10.6.8 to my PC running windows. Is there any way I can convert all of the files to word-friendly documents as a batch change or will I have to open each individual file and re-save it as a word-friendly file?

    I need to transfer up to two hundred Pages and Keynote files from my macbook running on Mac OS X 10.6.8 to my PC running windows. Is there any way I can convert all of the files to word-friendly documents as a batch change or will I have to open each individual file and re-save it as a word-friendly file?

  • My mac book pro got stolen and i just purchased a new one is there any way i can recover my purchased songs from i tunes. I have the same account name, password and everything

    my mac book pro got stolen and i just purchased a new one is there any way i can recover my purchased songs and movies from i tunes. I have the same account name, password and everything

    Yes. Update to iTunes 10.3.1
    Then go to the iTunes Store and click Purchased "new" under Music Quick Links on the right side of the iTunes window.
    You can re download your purchased content from the next window.

  • How do I go about getting the product serial number to register my product as well as install my product.  I bought it with a product box.  On the software disc sleeve, there is a series of numbers pasted at the bottom of the sleeves but this is not valid

    How do I go about getting the product serial number to register my product as well as install my product.  I bought it with a product box.  On the software disc sleeve, there is a series of numbers pasted at the bottom of the sleeves but this is not valid.  When I tried to type this in for registration, it does register as this numbers also contain letters in it.  Apparently the registration boxes accept numbers only.  What do I do with a useless product for which I have paid good money for it?????

    This is the simple solution which was offered to me when I tried to get the serial code on line.
    The box and disc sleeve do not contain a series with 24 numbers which I presume is the product code to install.
    I tried to redeem the registration code by following what they recommended, but inevitably it gets to the page that showed the registration boxes that need 24 serial numbers and I got stuck again.
    This product is so different what my previous experiences of other software products where I just enter the serial number straight from the disc sleeve and then I got registered and go on to use the software.
    I is really frustrating, spending the last two hours trying to get my product going....

  • I have a G5 and iBook with PowerPC/iTunes 10....just recently I can't bring up the preset Internet radio on either one. Is this a glitch, or have they been permanently disabled for older versions of iTunes?

    I have a G5 and iBook with PowerPC/iTunes 10....just recently I can't bring up the preset Internet radio on either one. Is this a glitch, or have they been permanently disabled for older versions of iTunes?

    I should have posted this for you a while ago. My apologies for not doing it sooner. This was passed on to me by another user R C-R
    He deserves the credit for this workaround. This is his post from an area in the forum where you have to be level 6 or higher in which to participate.
    I am getting the same (global) error using iTunes 10.3.1 on a 2008 MacBook running 10.6.8.
    A really, really awkward workaround that works for me (for now) is if you have the URL of the Internet radio server you can go to Advanced > Open Stream... (in iTunes 10.x) or type command + U, enter it there & click OK. The station should play fine in 10.x.
    You can get the URL from any version of iTunes that still supports the "radio tuning service" (which I gather is an Apple server thing Apple is no longer supporting for 10.x). Play the station normally from the newer version & type command + I to open the info window. At the bottom of the "Summary" tab you will see the URL. (Annoyingly, you can't copy the text so you will have to write it down.)
    Once you have that, you can play the station in 10.x & add it to a playlist for future use.
    To check this out, maybe try http://198.27.80.37/stream/mbarsott.pls -- it is a European Jazz station that works fine for me with iTunes 10.3.1.
    This workaround does work, but is a bit cumbersome. I'm still holding out hope that it is just a glitch.

Maybe you are looking for

  • Short dump while running Alert Monitor

    Hi, I am getting a short dump while determining alert in Alert Monitor through T. Code /SAPAPO/AMON1. The error says as below: Runtime Errors         BCD_NO_SIGN Short text : A packed number contains no sign. What happened? : Error in the ABAP Applic

  • Failed to install enterprise manager under linux

    When I installed Oracle 10g(10.2.0.1) under linux, I got an error when running /ora01/db/oracle/product/10.2.0.1/bin/emca within oracle universal installer. The emConfig.log file shows such error: oracle.sysman.emcp.exception.EMConfigException: Inval

  • I cloud Storage

    I Am having a problem with my storage on my iphone 5 i am trying to update my Tom Tom app and its telling me I haven't got enough storage although when I go into manage storage I I have Total storage 25.oo GB. and available 15.8 Gb ??????

  • The evaluate phase failed. The Adapter used in the evaluate may have thrown

    Greetings I am deploying an application in Oracle Application Server ( 10.1.2.0.2) made using myfaces at the front end and hibernate at the back end, and encounter the following error. I have alsosuccessfully deployed a simpler application based on t

  • Newbie: How to automate link creation from a map index grid?

    We would like the user to jump to an atlas page from the index page (similar to table of contents in a book). There are more than 135 pages in the map atlas. we would like to automate the link creation.