Archive and install cannot acess admin

I did and upgrade from 10.3.9 to Tiger 10.4 using the "archive and install" which creates a previous System folder 1. I cannot acsses anything asking for admin and password, if i go to the accounts in the system prefs pane.
It has me listed as "standard user" so i can't even change me to Admin because it wants my admin and password to unlock.
I have already used the install disk to change password, the only change was to my login name and password.
I did an archive and install so that i could if possible use any of the files from the previous system from 10.3.9 in any of the Tiger's system.
I done a lot of searching here, some i knew few i didn't.
Suggestions anyone?
Steve

That is very strange -- the OS is supposed to make sure there is always at least one admin user account. Niel's helpful link should get you going again, but you might want to consider calling AppleCare about this anyway. They should know if something in the installer or migration assistant is buggy enough to let this happen.

Similar Messages

Performed an Archive and Install and now my Admin password doesn't work

I talked to CS this afternoon per an issue with iTunes and was instructed to perform an Archive and Install.
I just got done running both discs and the computer seems ready to go. When I click on my user name (I'm the admin) my password no longer works. We have two other users on the computer (neither have been set up with a password to access the accounts) but now the computer is asking for one.
I'm typing my password correctly.
Does the computer reset to a generic password?
Any help would be appreciated!!
Thank you!

Hi Kathleen,
Does the computer reset to a generic password?
No, it most likely means that there was a disk problem, you can generally prevent... well, let me give you my whole spiel since we're here...
Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it finishes.
The usual reason why updates fail or mess things up, or things don't load/run, is if Permissions are not fixed before & after every update, with a reboot... you may get a partial update when the installer finds it doesn't have Permissions to change one obscure little part of the OS, leaving you with a mix of OS versions.
Some people get away without Repairing Permissions for years, some for only days.
If Permissions are wrong before applying an update, you could get mixed OS versions, if Directory is the slightest messed up, who knows!
If many Permission are repaired, or any Directory errors are found, you may need to re-apply some the latest/biggest updates again, or even do an A&I if you have enough free disk space.
At this point it's not unlikely to undo the PW problem, but will prevent fiture problems.
If it still doesn't work, go back to Step 2 above & lok for Change Password in the Menu bar.
We have more if that still doesn't do it.

Cannot log in after archive and install

Hello, everyone. ive been searching the support pages of the apple site for an hour and i cannot seem to find a resolution to this...
I just peformed an archive and install ad now i cannot log in. i think this happened once before and i called apple support and i was told to log in as root. the problem i am having is that the login window does not give me the option to change the user field, it only allows me to type a password. every time i type my password, the login screen shakes. so even if i wanted to type root into the user field, i cant. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thank you.
p.s. i was running tiger but lost my tiger disc so i am using the disc that originally came with my g5 which has panther on it...
dayna

Hi, Dayna.
1. Be sure the Caps Lock key isn't active: passwords are case sensitive. You may see an exclamation point on the right side of the password field if the Caps Lock key is engaged.
2. There was a similar problem if one performed an Archive and Install (A&I) of Jaguar (10.2) over Panther (10.3): see "Can't log in after installing Mac OS X 10.2 over 10.3." I've not heard of a similar problem with performing and A&I of Panther over Tiger, but it may be related. However, before trying the advice therein to perform the A&I without selecting "Preserve Users and Network Settings" you'd need to have a backup of your data, otherwise you risk losing everything in your account. IMO, the most expedient solution would be to buy a replacement Mac OS X Tiger disc. If there is an Apple Retail Store in your area, that would be the quickest place to purchase one.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Cannot run java program after archive and install

Hi,
I am new to this forum and appreciate the help and advice given here.
Yesterday, I did an archive and install on my system which install 10.4.3. Afterwards, I installed X11 and did the software updates which brought my system back to 10.4.8. It also installed Java 1.3.1, 1.4.2, and 1.5 (J2SE5).
Prior to the archive and install, I had no problems executing a java program either in the command line in an X11 window or using Eclipse. However, when I try now I get the exception message "Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError:". I checked my CLASSPATH and it's not the problem. I am able to compile, and execute the javadoc command. If I type java -version I get
java version "1.5.0_06"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_06-112)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_06-64, mixed mode, sharing)
Under Eclipse, I am able to see the Java versions under Preferences - Java - Installed JREs but if I go to the Run -> Run As menu, I see (none applicable).
Thanks for any suggestions to fix this.
James
Dual 867MHz G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I resolved the issue. I reinstalled XCode and had an issue with one of the files I was testing.

Cannot access address book following archive and install

Following an archive and install with 10.5.8 I find that when attempting to access Address Book, Font Book, Text Edit and Time Machine I get the following admonition on the screen, " You can't open the application because it is not supported on this architecture."
How can I restore these applications?

Sdgardne, thank you so much! Using your post and links I was able to restore my address book after upgrading my software and having trouble with my address book. And I am very technologically challenged so I appreciate having something I could understand and follow.

Cannot Archive and Install--help.

I recently upgraded from Tiger to Leopard and am having a number of problems since the upgrade. Would like to Archive and Install to get a clean System folder, but that option is now blanked out and only "Erase and Install" is available. Permissions are repaired and Disc verifies fine. What can I do to restore the ability to Archive and Install?

From the yellowed banner item at http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=235 click the linked article and find http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306877
Alternatively, reinstall Leopard via E&I and migrate from the bootable backup/clone of your previous Tiger installation—assuming you followed normal practices and made one.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106941
http://www.macmaps.com/upgradefaq.html
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/installswupdates.html
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/backuprecovery.html

How do I use archive and install to restore my CD drive?

I have a 2.66 GHz MacPro with current leopard software. My extended warranty just ran out. Before it ran out I began having problems with my CD drive in that some CD's or DVD's will be recognized while others' will not open. After talking extensively to Apple, they told me to do an archive and install with the original installation discs. I've been putting this off (even allowing the warranty to expire) because I'm paranoid that I'm going to lose precious data even though I have a current Time Machine backup.
So my question is do I just do the archive and install and hope for the best? Will I then have to upgrade back to the current version? I remember doing an archive and install a couple of times before to upgrade OS's and a few things didn't work until they were tweaked - lost code numbers, some Adobe products, etc.
Or is there a CD/DVD drive 'package' on the OSX install CD? Could I just reload this? If so can anyone tell me where to look? I would love to do this because everything else is working perfectly and I don't want to mess things up.
Note: I'm sure it's a software thing and not hardware related after consulting with Apple.
Thanks for the help,
Lou

How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) 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, then quit DU and return to the installer.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Archive and Install/Disc Utility issues -

I'm currently spending a summer abroad in South America, and have had issues with my Macbook Pro (early 2011 version) no longer starting up after some virus experiences last week. The computer hangs itself during loading on the white screen w/ grey apple and the spinning dial. In contacts with Apple Care as well as some Mac-saavy friends, the following situations have been tried:
Opening in safe mode - The loading bar (added at the bottom of the grey apple screen) loads about 1/4 of the way, disappears, and the computer hangs itself.
Opening in single user mode - I run the recommended sbin/fsck -fy command to clean up the hard drive. It comes back after having checked 6-7 parts, saying that the MacHD is in good shape, with a message following saying that something had been "modified" (forgive me for not remembering the correct verbage at present). I then run the same command again, resulting in a message that the HD is clean and without error. I then "reboot" and remain hung on the white screen w/ grey apple.
Opening in verbose mode - I reach the following lines of text, and then there is no further progress:
enable
IONetworkController::enable
createMediumTables
enable end
MacAuthEvent en0   Auth result for: 00:23:cd:1e:f2:c4 No Ack
same line as above saying "Auth timed out" at the end
Command+option+r+p - shock two or three times, (three startup chimes) and computer continues to hang itself in the normal spot.
- So, at this point I took the advice of Apple Care and a few other friends, and tracked down a "retail copy" of Mac OSX (10.6.3) in order to try to do an Archive and Install or any sort of Disc Utility via the startup disc.
Inserting the disc and holding "c" at startup results in the cd drive whirring the disc for a few moments, and then remaining hung at the same white loading screen.
Holding "option" during the startup gives me the option of loading from the HD, or the disc. Selecting the disc proceeds to whirr the cd drive, take me to the white loading screen with the grey apple, and... you guessed it... leaves the CPU hung.
My question is then, is my Macbook Pro unable to read this disc and execute Archive and Install/Disc Utility for hardware reasons as per the virus attack, or is the disc not compatible with my version of OSX (which I have since confirmed through my wife to be 10.6.6)?
Different sources have told me different things. The local AASP in Uruguay sold me what they professed to be the "latest" version of OSX - the 10.6.3, what's more for $55 dollars instead of the lower cost as available in the states (between $15-$30), so I am reluctant to go back to them for advice when they seem more inclined to cash in on my inexperience (Mac owner of less than a month) than actually fixing my issue. Apple Care told me that a standard "retail disc" should work, but I am assuming now that they believe I can snag the same version as initially came with my Macbook Pro. Should I be looking to have my wife mail my original OSX install DVDs down here to resolve this problem? Should 10.6.3-retail be working and is not for reasons I haven't identified? I have since done some online research and found mentions that doing any sort of HD partitioning or OSX reinstalls can only be accomplished by utilizing a disc of an equal or more recent version of the OSX (examples that 10.4 can't work on a notebook preinstalled with 10.5, etc). Does this translate to 10.6.3 not being able to function for my 10.6.6 MBP?
Any insight or thoughts would be much appreciated, as essentially all of my schoolwork and assignments are now trapped on an inaccessible HD. Thank you for your time.
- Joseph

I tried adding in a bunch of information about what your troubleshooting steps meant, but the server went into maintenance while I did. So, here it is again:
"Opening in safe mode - The loading bar (added at the bottom of the grey apple screen) loads about 1/4 of the way, disappears, and the computer hangs itself."
     This is FSCK running, and gives you an indication of it's progress.
"MacAuthEvent en0   Auth result for: 00:23:cd:1e:f2:c4 No Ack"
     This is either a failed DHCP request or ARP request.
"Command+option+r+p"
     Command+Option+P+R - Resets PRAM. That's why p+r.
"Inserting the disc and holding "c" at startup results in the cd drive whirring the disc for a few moments, and then remaining hung at the same white loading screen."
     This problem indicates that the disc is too old to boot your system. The reason for why this disc cannot boot is because it doesn't contain the necessary drivers for your model MacBook Pro. My mom and brother have similar models, and my brother had similar issues while in Japan. He went and got an install disc as well, which failed, I ended up stepping him through so that it would boot in Safe Mode, and then got it working in Normal Mode remotely.
FYI: Sophos has a free Mac Antivirus program, that is very processing friendly, and will scan in the background. You may wish to consider it as an alternative to Avast! if it continues giving you problems. Though I suspect it may be coincidence that your computer had problems shortly after Avast! cleaned up files. Let me know how it goes. You may wish to open up Disk Utility and check your S.M.A.R.T. Status. You want to make sure it says "Verified" If it doesn't say "Verified" then you have a problem.
-Phill

I need help to recover/relink mail after archive and install

I am helping my friend fix her 15" G4 PowerBook after memory failures caused many crashes. There was no recovering short of a reinstall via "archive and install". All that worked great, but now Mail doesn't recognize the accounts, mailboxes, signatures, etc. that are still located in the user/library/mail folder.
What's up with that? I can't figure out how to relink Mail to this stuff.
Here's more detail:
1) After lots of prior debugging (Disk Utility, Disk Warrior, Apple Hardware Test, single-user commands per Apple tech notes), I did the A&I to 10.3.4 from the original disks.
2) Per Dr. Smoke and The X Lab, I ran the 10.3.9 combo installer right away so that the "older" system would not get confused by the "newer" stuff in the Previous Systems folder.
3) I Launched Mail and it started anew, i.e. didn't recognize accounts and wanted to start over.
Thanks for any help.

The account settings are stored in HOME/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist. It looks like that file became corrupt -- maybe its permissions went awry (Disk Utility cannot fix that) and Mail just deleted the file to create a new one.
If your friend doesn't have a backup copy of that file, just set up the accounts from scratch all over again. If given the option to import existing mailboxes or something like that, don't. Just enter the account information and Mail will automagically rediscover the data in HOME/Library/Mail/ when done.
You'll also have to re-configure most settings in Mail > Preferences. For spam-related security reasons, the first thing you should do is go to Preferences > Viewing and disable Display remote images in HTML messages if it's enabled.

After "Archive and Install", my printer no longer works

Powerbook 1.67 GHz PowerPC G4
Mac OS X Version 10.4.11
I recently had some issue with my password, so the Apple Genius people ran an archive and install, reset the user password, and got me back to my original state. However, I've had to run all these updates now, and can't figure out how to get the printer to work again. It worked perfectly fine before the archive and install, it was recognized right away.
I have tried the following:
I uninstalled and then reinstalled the printer software (Epson Stylus CX6000) from the installer CD. Didn't work. Unplugged and turned off power, then re-plugged and restarted everything. Didn't work. I have no idea what to do here. I downloaded any new updates to the software from the Epson website. Didn't work. Help?

If the correct printer driver is missing, and the Print selection
box says Any Printer, it may be unable to use that one.
See if the printer can be used in a different user account.
Sometimes if the system is messed up (even pros do it)
there may be a way to see if the issue is system wide or
if it is based in a problem in the admin user account.
Some optional printer drivers may be available at the printer
manufacturer's web site for downloads. Sometimes there is
a newer one for the entire class of printer models, and so
it may be for yours. Or there is GimpPrint/GutenPrint for
other drivers; their web page shows supported printers.
{Since you state that you've tried other driver options, then
you may have to consider doing a new 'archive & install'
and be sure everything is done right, and then update it.
Or an all new installation on a wiped empty hard drive.}
There should be a printer error log accessible through Console
and perhaps it may shed some light on the basic problem...
PS: Is this printer an Ethernet and USB printer? If so, have
you tried whatever other connection/cable to see if it works
when running on the other available protocol? The Ethernet
printer would use an IP address or hardware MAC address
and the appropriate cable, if the printer supports both.
Good luck & happy computing!
{ edited 2x }

Video podcasts won't play after archive and install

I'm one of the folks having capture issues with FCP 4.5 and OS X 10.4.9. So I decided to archive and install to 10.4.8. Now it seems I'm having all kinds of video problems, including downloading and playing video podcasts in iTunes (7.2). When I download a podcast, say "Tiki Bar TV", the file downloads, but in the podcast screen, I get an error message which reads,
"There is a problem adding the video to iTunes. The file might be corrupted, or a file type that iTunes cannot play." For the record, I have never run into anything like this before. And it's the same way with every video podcast.
I had some similar wonkiness going on with QuickTime, too. But after I installed a divx plug-in, and flip for mac, everything seems to be okay with the QT. iTunes is still a mystery. Any ideas on what my next step should be would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Ben
PowerMac G5 Dual 2.5Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.8) 3GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, ATI9800XT

There are files that are not brought along with Archive and Install.
Some are invisible and not accessible without enabling "root" access and even then you have to know exactly which files have to be moved from the 'previous System' folder.
Archive and Install never works with Apple's Pro apps.
If Niel's suggestion doesn't work you'll have to erase your hard drive and reinstall everything making sure you first backup important data to another hard drive.
(don't forget to save your mail and addresses)

Doesn't accept User name + Password after archive and install

I did an archive and install, when finished the install the computer restarted and came up with the login Name + Password screen. I type in every account Name + Password I know and the login window just shakes telling me its wrong. I don't know what to do from this point, I was thinking about reseting the admin password but I'm not sure thats the problem because we have two admin accounts and I know both passwords.
I archive and installed 10.4.0 over 10.4.7. And currently on my backup install of tiger.

I did an archive and install because I had no video, and sometimes could not turn on the IBook. I have had two logic boards that went bad and were fixed free by Apple. When I finished the install the computer restarted and came up with the login Name + Password screen. When I type in Name + Password the login window just shakes telling me its wrong, which it is not.
It is possible that the administrator or other user on the computer were erased at some point when I thought to get rid of unnecessary stuff (mistake!)
I archive and installed 10.2.0 over 10.3.7, because I thought the instructions were to use the original install disk.
I have a backup of the info on this computer on a MacBook Pro that I use all the time, this IBook I only use for email, etc.

I Lost Parallels After Archive and Install

I posted this on the Parallels Forum, and although it was viewed 59 times, there were no replies. So I'm posting it here hoping that someone can/will answer my question. Here's what I posted:
My OS X (10.4.11) became a little quirky after three years so I did an Archive and Install. Now I can't get Parallels to start up my Windows XP virtual machine. I get the error message "Parallels Desktop is unable to operate properly since it cannot communicate with one of its drivers ... re-install Parallels Desktop." I have my original Parallels 3.0 installation CD so I suppose I can figure out how to do this. (My iMac was purchased with Parallels pre-installed.) Do I need to uninstall before I re-install? I have on my desktop the Parallels alias labeled "Microsoft Windows XP.pvs" plus I have in Applications an alias labeled "Parallels Desktop". If I need to uninstall, can I just drag these two to the trash? I am not adept at this sort of thing, so I need some guidance. Thanks.

Hmmm...good question, I'm not sure. I believe all you would have to do is be able to at least bring up the Parallels Window and have at least "Paralells" recognize still that there is a virtual machine there, not necessarily be able to get into it. Can you at least pull up the parallels window and/or box that you would normally pull up to list your virtual machines? If you cannot do at least this, then you're probably stuck re-installing Parallels. But please remember to back up your virtual machine file in another area like an external hard drive before you do the re-install. Installing and un-installing parallels is NOT SUPPOSE to mess with your virtual machines, but I wouldn't bank on it. If you can at least bring up that Window/Box, then you could use the are listed on the box to re-install the Tools. Hope it works out for ya.

After Archive and Install, music and photos lost

Hello, I installed Leopard yesterday on my Imac desktop and it went fine, but then somehow it locked me out of the hard drive, and then...the blue screen. I put the orginal Tiger disk back in and re-installed the previous software, opting for 'archive and install'. It worked but my question is this;
Within the previous system folder, my music and photos are still missing. All I see is the iphoto icon which opens to a completely empty program. (Yet the info on this Icon says it is a 1 gb in there). Are my photos lost, really? And if not, how may I retrieve them? Thanks in advance.

You may find it in the Previous System Folder created during an Archive and Install that contains your old system. Assuming you have no need for its contents you can delete the PSF and recover the disk space.
Of course if the hard drive is corrupted then you may have performed an Archive and Install on a corrupted drive which will result in a corrupted installation. Consider doing the following:
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) 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 installer. Now shutdown the computer for a couple of minutes and then restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

After Archive and Install = computer running slowly

I just ran Archive and Install, repaired my Hard Drive with disk utility and ran software update, everything should be gangbusters.
But now, it takes much longer than usual for my computer to boot and when I do basic things like run a web browser, the finder and itunes at the same time, I get a 'pinwheel of doom' consistenly as if the computer needs to stop and process what's going on.
Why is my computer running so slowly? I have enough ram, processing to run very smoothly and my hard drive now has 15% free space.

After I started a new user and used some of my old programs in that user, they loaded faster on the admin user I've been having problems with, and it seemed like my computer was starting to go back to normal.
New problems... I ran software update and there were a bunch of security updates, quicktime and other stuff I hadn't updated. It took a while to download and install so I left my house for a few hours. I came back and my computer showed the "restart to take effect" prompt. But then it wouldn't boot to OSX and I'm back to square one. Why would this keep happening? Why would my OS stop functioning after leaving it idle for several hours?
So now I'm re-installing the OS again and we'll see what happens.
Could it be that the climate is too hot? I have a thermometer program that says the inside of my computer is 135 degrees F. Is it too hot? Maybe a fan is broken?
In the past my OS has only stopped working due to lack of HD space but now I have about 15% free space. I'm really out of ideas here.

Archive and install cannot acess admin

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