How can I secure single user mode

I have a macbook pro, I would like to disable single user mode.
thanks,
Lal.

To boot from the DVD, insert it, then restart and hold down the C key until the Apple logo appears on screen. If your MBP came with Snow Leopard installed, you must use the gray DVD that was in the box. If it came with an earlier version of the OS, you can use either the gray DVD or the retail disc you used to upgrade. In either case, don't run the Installer; follow the directions in the link above.

Similar Messages

Can't exit single user mode

I frequently start in single user mode to run fsck -fy on my startup disk
and after running fsck -fy, I exit single user mode typing exit or logout.
Now after running fsck -fy, typing exit or logout the single user mode remains
and returns a line: -sh-2.05b#. I’m not adept enough to use single user mode
other than for running fsck -fy so I am stuck on how to end the single user mode. TIA
Eric

Some stories have happy endings and this is one of them.
After a little head scratching I dig out the Tiger install DVD
and repaired the permissions on the problem HD partition.
Reboot to the problem disk, enter correct network settings, and
now we even have a web to surf. Also we can exit single user mode OK.
Eric

How to get to single user mode

I aquired an old power mac G4 with an old account with 10.3.9 and an old administrator account. It seems that procedures to remove the account start in Single user mode. The computer won't start when holding down system - s. The drive clicks a few times but the display goes to sleep from no video signal. So How can I get to single user mode when the usual way don't work?

The hard drive's directory may be dead, or it may have last been booted into Mac OS 9. IF you are lucky, they did install Mac OS X on it, and that can be determined either through an Option key boot, or through an X key boot on a wired (not wireless) USB Apple compatible keyboard. X key booting will only work if the X operating system is on the same partition, whereas Option key boot will reveal the Startup Manager, where you select the drive and hit the right pointing arrow for the drive partition that has Mac OS X. Note this will not work on an original PCI PowerMac G4. You may also need to replace the PRAM battery, a 1/2 AA 3.6V battery from Radio Shack before any boot sequence will work. Once it boots into Mac OS X, Single User Mode should work.

Can't enter Single-User Mode

I just bought tiger for my 12 inch powerbook G4. am unable to complete installation due to an error with my 10.2. The problem is I dont have the start up disks anymore and can't enter single-use or verbose-mode to fix the problem.
Any ideas on how to upgrade or enter single-use?
Thanks
Ben

An Open Firmware password is one thing that would prevent you from changing the startup disk, booting from a CD or starting up in single user mode. You would see a lock and a dialog asking you to enter your password. So, it doesn't seem that this is your problem.
If you have some file directory damage, you can use the Tiger install DVD to attempt to repair it. Put the DVD in the drive, restart and hold down on the "c" key (if you have one and then choose the language you want to use. At the next screen, do not continue to install but choose to open the Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. You can then use the Disk Utility to "repair disk" on your hard drive. The Tiger Disk Utility is pretty mature and can repair many problems.
-Doug

I am new to OSX and I downloaded an app known as virtualbox. It made my computer buggy and my friend told me to drag it to the trash and call it a day, so I did, but its still loading virtualbox kexts, I can see from single user mode and its still buggy.

How exactly do I uninstall, and unload the kexts?

Kext files are installed to /System/Library/Extensions so if you look in there you might be able to find some for that application in specific. I use the app called "appcleaner" to remove all my unwanted apps on my Macbook Pro.
http://www.freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/
Open the app and look for the app in particular you are trying to delete. If you can't find the app go to the finder and drag it into the appcleaner app. You may have to reinstall the virtualbox app in order to uninstall it.

Upgraded to Leopard and lost disks...forgot the admin password. anyone know how to reset in single-user mode?

I received some instructions but they did not work. Does anyone know how to reset this?

1 - Does it boot into Leopard?
2 - Does it have any important data on it that is not backed up elsewhere?
It it boots into Leopard you could continue using it and hope that you find your Leopard install disks later or discover some other way to overcome the lost password.
If it is fully backed up or has no important data on it you could install Tiger.

10.4.3 and Single User Mode, now Wireless Keyboard can

Hello all.
IN case you haven't found out which I did, just to let you know, with the latest OS 10.4.3 update, now you can boot into Single User Mode (fsck) with your
b wireless keyboard
and still at the same time
b continue to complete fsck process with your wireless keyboard!!
No more switching to a regular wired keyboard just to complete the process!
Cheers

Hi Steven, bit unclear on a couple things.
When I went into single user mode the fans went wild. But I knew this to be normal and proceeded with repairing the disk
Normal for fans to go wild in single user or when repairing the disk?
I replicated the problem applied the same fix and again every thing was normal.
The problem being screaming fan and the fix being resetting SMU? (unplug for 15secs). So how did you replicate it, and is it really fixed now?

Single-user mode: How to mount and access an external USB drive?

My MacBook Pro HD is acting up. Cannot boot normally or into "safe mode". Cannot reinstall OS without wiping out the HD. Need to recover some critical files but DiskUtil First Aid and Restore options cannot successfully complete. Problem traced down to "invalid node structure" which means I either have a hardware problem or my filesystem partition directory structure is corrupted. I need to recover some files that are not backed up (timin issue with my regular backup process).
I can boot into single-user mode, mount the root file system (/sbin/mount -uw /) and can see/navigate the rot filesystem structure via good UNIX command line. Here's what I would like to do (in single-user mode):
1. Mount an external USB drive (250 GB already formatted as Mac OS X Extended)
2. Copy various files and/or directories from my HD to the external USB drive (UNIX cp command)
I realize I could go spend $$ for the Disk Warrior or Data Rescue products (or something similar) that SHOULD help me recover my HD or files, but it seems silly to do this when I can see, touch and taste them from within single-user mode....
Comments? Suggestions?
TIA --
Trent
P.S. Once I've recovered my files, I'll try to reformat the HD and then reinstall the OS. And THEN go have Apple look at my machine (thank goodness for AppleCare coverage)!

Resolution:
1) Boot system in single-user mode (SUM) with external HD attached.
2) Execute the following UNIX CLI commands once SUM boot process is completed:
# fsck -fy
# mount -uw /
# mkdir /Volumes/target_directory
# mount -t hfs -w /dev/diskXXX /Volumes/target_directory
# cp -RXv /source_directory /Volumes/target_directory
Where XXX is the device-level name for your external HD's data partition. In my case this was /dev/disk1s2. It may take some experimentation to identify this device name if your system has multiple HD's.
3) Verify contents were successfully copied onto the /Volumes/target_directory.
Comments and observations:
- Do NOT use "/" as your source directory - cp will make a second (redundant) copy of /volumes/target_directory
- I was able to successfully copy ALL files off my HD despite the fsck command's "invalid node structure" error message with this simple procedure. YMMV, depending on the state of your HD.
- The repeated disk0s2: I/O error warnings displayed during the SUM boot process did not seem to have a negative effect on this procedure. I also received this same error warning intermittently as I navigated the mounted filesystem did not seem to be a problem, either. Again, YMMV.
Commercial software:
I downloaded ProSoft Engineering's Data Rescue 3 product (trial version) before spending $99 to attempt to recover my "bad" HD's data via mounting to a good system with FW target mode. It could not successfully complete its "QuickScan" process and immediately hung on block 0 of 390M during its "Deep Scan" process. The product did seem to function properly on an operational system. ProSoft's technical support was responsive and helpful but had no answer for my "Deep Scan" error.
I did not attempt to use Alsoft's Disk Warrior 4 product. I could not find any trial software available and was reluctant to spend $100 based upon the mixed reviews and comments on this discussion forum as well as other reviews. Alsoft does claim to address the "invalid node structure" error in their marketing materials. Hindsight being 20/20 - I saved $100 by using this simple procedure.
Final note:
Neither Leopard nor Snow Leopard's installation DVD could recognize the bad internal HD when trying to do a reinstall. While DiskUtil was able to "see" the bad internal drive it immediately failed when I tried to do an "erase and format". Took the system to my local Apple store and the Genius ran a tool called "SMART Utility" from Volitans Software (www.volitans-software.com). SMART utility confirmed that my HD was bad so it was replaced. AppleCare pays for itself (once again!).

Single user mode, Lost Admin Account, and Disk Permissions

Okay, so I have quite a few issues here. I will start from the beginning.
About a week ago, I tried to install some updates and I could not get the Admin account to work. I went to the users profile and noticed my Admin account was not there. Did a quick search and found Apple's outline of how to fix this via the Operational DVD and the root user. Tried this and it would never work, because as soon as I restarted the computer or changed screens it switched back to a standard account.
Next up, I went into the terminal to check the Admin User group. As it turns out it is not there. So I find a discussion on there that outlines how to rebuild this in single user mode and the Unix prompt. So, I print it off and try to restart in single user mode. After trying two different keyboards and a sum total of 8 to 10 times, I can't restart in single user mode to get to the Unix prompt.
One last thing, last night I went into the Disk Utility on the start-up DVD. I wanted to check the Repair Permission log and I got the following:
ACL found but not expected on "private/var/root/Library/Preferences"
ACL found but not expected on "private/var/root/Library/"
ACL found but not expected on "Network"
Thoughts?
Thanks for your help!
tpp

first, the ACL messages can be ignored. if you can't get to single user mode you can't fix your admin group. the only reasons that I know why you wouldn't be able to do that is
1. a defective keyboard
2. you have a firmware password set. have you? you'd have to turn it off before you can get to single user mode.
lastly when you restart in single user mode make sure you press command+s right after you hear the chime. do not press it too early or too late. lastly, I'm not sure which instructions you've found to fix the admin group but I have them in this thread
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8011324

Installing from Single User Mode

I had to wipe my internal hard drive on my iMac G5 (the model just prior to the Intel Macs). I did this from another Mac using FireWire mode.... anyway...
I can boot in Single User mode, but how can I tell it to install from the Tiger Installer in the DVD drive.. I just don't know Unix much..
The machine will boot from the Install disc but shuts down before it actually boots.... Stays on in Single User mode though.. thanks

Thanks for everyone's advice, but it's gone.... After a few attemps and getting it up and running, with a new system installed, it just shut down one last time and has a nice burnt aroma to it....
I pulled the power supply out and it smelled fine on it's own and it seemed be burnt somewhere in the computer... If I let it sit for a while, I can start it up, but then it shuts down and stays down for a long time...
It's now a 17" paper weight..... No data was lont, sine I backed it up just prior to the problem.
Pretty good record though. I've owned Macs way back to my PowerPC 7600 days (and even my old Apple 2e and II gs) and this is the first Mac that I will ever have to toss.. I'm happy about that... Still got my Intel iMcac and MacBook Pro (but my mother-in-law inherits my old Macs and she passes her's to her son. She's bummbed she'll miss this one.. She'll have to live with the iMac (shpere type) one for a while longer....)
RIP

G5 freezing - no problems with ASD - crashing also in single-user-mode

Hello,
I have a PowerMac7,1 with MacOS X Server 10.5.8, which today started freezing and restarting.
After the system froze, sometimes it restarts automatically, or I have to manually reboot it with the power button. In both cases the restart also froze!
The only way to start the system is the clean the PRAM, but after a while it is crashing again!
I managed to run the full ASD 2.5.7 test without error for a few hours (then I stopped), and with the install DVD I also managed to run the system repair (there was nothing to repair).
Both from the system and from the install DVD I cannot run the repair permissions (it freezes!). So I tried to execute "fsck -fy" from the single-user-mode, but the computer froze again!
Is there something else I can try?
Thanks a lot!

Two things: DiskWarrior. New HD.
It seems that the crashes are coming into play when the HD is in the game in a meaningful sense, which isn't the case with the install disk or ASD, unless you are trying to do something like disk repair or permissions repair from the install disk. What's interesting is that you can boot into single-user mode, but when you invoke fsck, you crash, whereas disk repair from the install disk, which in essence fsck, runs and reports no errors.
You can also try a safe boot and see how things run there. If you can do that, I would suggest running AppleJack on the system, if you can.
Finally, it's possible that NVRAM has gotten corrupted (a possibility but not a high possibility) so an NVRAM reset might help things out.
After trying the safe-boot and NVRAM routes, if no help, my next tool would be DiskWarrior. In the past, I have had situations where DW found problems that Disk Utility didn't find, though that was in DW 3, probably. Fortunately (knock on wood) DW 4 has not had to confront a disaster situation yet for me.

Help needed: Lion boots only in single user mode after a kasperksy unsuccefull installation

Hello everyboby,
I used to be a Sun Solaris sysadmin with root privileges, but I can't fix the Macbook of my girlfriend...
WHAT I WISHED:
I wished I could restore the boot INI/config files of a MacBook (the old one, made of white plastic, not the pro, made of "steel"), so that Lion started at boot, like it used to do, before a "fatal" kasperky installation.
WHAT HAPPENS:
the macbook plays the chord, shows the Apple logo, seems to load the OS (Lion) and then switches to graphic mode, BUT the desktop (is "desktop" the name of the screen of the operating system, once it's fully started, like on a PC?) doesn't appear, only a grey screen, then nothing happens.
I guess that probably Lion is fully running under the grey screen, but without the screen/video been correctly setup, I cannot interact with the notebook.
I CAN boot in single user mode, mount the file system in writing mode and read and write the disk.
WHAT HAPPENED:
my girlfriend upgraded to Lion from Snow Leopard and used the notebook for a while (one month?), then she decided to upgrade kaspersky, but the installation failed somehow and now the notebook is stuck.
WHAT I TRIED TO DO:
- I read this: http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPSystem Startup/Chapters/CustomLogin.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/10000172i-SW10-BAJCGEGG
- and that: http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/ man5/launchd.conf.5.html#//apple_ref/doc/man/5/launchd.conf
- and removed from the disk all the folders and files dealing with startup items AND kaspersky, but nothing changed: at boot the grey screen appears and Lion's interface is not loaded (or if it is, it's not shown).
- then I looked for some logs, found the kernel's one and found something that looks like an error message dealing with video inizialization... So, it really seems something is not working at video level.
WHAT I AM ASKING YOU:
some help, please... : is there anybody that can give me some specific advice on how the boot is done on a macbook with Lion? Are there some INI files I can copy into the macbook, so that it starts in grphic mode?
whatever...
thank you in advance!
Dario

Linc Davis wrote:
I used to be a Sun Solaris sysadmin...
Then you backed up
I didn't: it's my girlfriend's notebook and she not using a timemachine external disk. She did all by herself

Resetting the Admin password in single user mode

Ok, my friend bought an old Imac from someone she went to school with with OS 10.4.2 on it. It works fine except that she can not install any programs because there is an admin password that she does not know. She asked the person she bought it from, he says he doesn't even remember setting a password. Normaly with this issue id just pop in the install disk and reset it from there, except neither of them have the install disk, and my install disk is to current for the machine. Does anyone know how I can reset the admin acount using single user mode commands? I can do it on my Mac Book pro but it doesn't seem to work the same way on 10.4. Please help!
EDIT: It is a Power PC G3 if that helps.
Message was edited by: CartooNxHerO

CartooNxHerO wrote:
Ok, so I used the advice from the third link you gave me but i'm still in single user mode trying to figure out how to delete the users home folders.
Message was edited by: CartooNxHerO
You do not need to delete "the users home folders". Nor do you need to delete the netinfo database. Here are two proceedures:
Change Password
Mac OS X:
Changing or resetting an account password via GUI:
Resetting a user's password
Resetting the original administrator account password
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106156
You do not have a CD/DVD
Changing password from single user mode:
You can also change the administrator's password from single user mode or create a new administrator account.
You need to get into single use mode for steps one and two that are listed below.
This page will tell you how to get into single user mode.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1492
Basically, you hold down the command-s key then powering on your machine. The command key has a little apple symbol on the lower left. It is between the alt/option key and the space bar. On a PC keyboard, it will be the windows key, I think.
1) You can change the password on an account. ( Do you know Unix. You are in a Unix single user console. ) The setup commands you need should be listed on the screen. For Mac OS 10.4.11, the commands are:
# Type the follow two instructions to access the startup disk in read/write:
/sbin/fsck -fy
/sbin/mount -uw /
# Start up some utility processes that are needed.
sh /etc/rc
# You will probably need to press the return key once the system stops typing.
# To find out the users on the system type, use the list command. The l is a lower case L:
ls /Users
# One of these accounts will be the administrator.
# Pick one of the users which I'll call a-user-name and type it in this command:
passwd a-user-name
# and enter the new user password. You need six characters.
# You will need to enter your password twice. Your typing will not show up on the screen just
# press enter when you complete the typing.
# For cryptic information on these commands try:
man ls
man passwd
The root account isn't enabled by default. I am not sure if changing the password on root will enable it.
2) Get the Mac to set up an additional administrative account. You can then change the password on your old account.
Start with your computer power off. Hold down command-s. Power on your computer.
Type in the following:
The first two commands will depend on your release of Mac OS X. Look at what is typed out in the console to determine the exact format.
# Type the follow two instructions to access the startup disk in read/write. Press return after each command.
/sbin/fsck -fy
/sbin/mount -uw /
cd /var/db
pwd
#List all files. The l is a lower case L.
ls -a
#The move command acts as a rename command in this format.
mv -i .applesetupdone .applesetupdone.old
reboot
Once you've done that the computer reboots and it's like the first time you used the machine. Your old accounts are all safe. From there you just change all other account passwords in the account preferences!!
Limnos adds detailed explainations:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8441597#8441597
The above the idea came from a post by JoseAranda at September 9, 2006 3:48 AM
http://www.askdavetaylor.com/howdo_i_reset_my_mac_os_x_admin_rootpassword.html
You will need to scroll down to see this post. Search for applesetupdone
Or see:
http://superpixel.ch/articles/running-setup-assistant-again/
Once you have a new administrative account, you can change the password of your old administrative account
blue apple > System Preferences > Accounts

Changing user login in single user mode?

Hi my computer (server10.3) is no longer booting up (stops at the blue screen just before the login).
only 2 things have changed since last time restarted
1) changed user login in in the prefs to automatic as my name
2) installed a security update
I am wondering - if I can get into single user mode - whether i can change or force the login details
thanks

Hi John,
   You can get into single user mode by depressing <Command>-s after the chime and holding it until you're in single user mode. Once you get there, I recommend that you run the following:
/sbin/mount -uw /
/usr/sbin/diskutil repairPermissions /
Repairing permissions is the classic first thing to do when you have problems after an update. After that, if we can help it will depend on your posting the error messages that are printed to screen before the login. If they get scrolled off the screen, you should be able to get them again with the command "dmesg".
Gary
~~~~
   The system was down for backups from 5am to 10am
   last Saturday.

Copying a file in Single User Mode

Hi all,
I was in the hospital, trying to backup files from my 15 inch Macbook Pro (new in November, running the latest OS), when I knocked over a cup of coffee, burning me. I knocked the computer onto the floor as I jumped up and now it is locked and read only, no matter what I do (original attempts to fix can be found here: https://discussions.apple.com/message/21633118#21633118). I can boot into single user mode, or holding down 'option' when I push the power button, but not boot normally to save my life.
I need to copy the entire user file ("Liz") from the damaged HD in single user mode to an external drive ("passport"). Is this possible? I tried using disk utility to copy the files, but it gives me an IO error. Being a novice, I am unsure if this is possible. It's the last chance I think I have to save the files I was *trying* to backup when I spilled the coffee. Some of it is critically important, so if you have any ideas, PLEASE let me know.
Thank you in advance.
Liz

There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to fully boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
1. Boot into Recovery (command-R at startup) or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in the support article linked below, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
How to back up and restore your files
2. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode by holding down the key combination command-T at the startup chime. Connect the two Macs with a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable. The internal drive of the machine running in target mode will mount as an external drive on the other machine. Copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode
3. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

How can I secure single user mode

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