Recovery of administrator name

I had moved and lost some of the documentation for my  IMac which included the administrator name.  I have the password.  Because of this I cannot update my system. Any suggestions on how to recover this?

It's the folder name given to your account folder in the /Users/ folder. You should be able to use the administrator's full name if it was configured with it. It is also displayed in the login screen if you get one at startup.

Similar Messages

  • Administrator name and password unable to be found or remembered. cannot update certain software without it. HELP!!!!

    cannot install maverick o x without  administrator name and password. cannotremember and cannot locate anywhere. HELP!!!

    Your username is the foldername you will find under your /Users/accountname/ folder. This is the one with the house icon on it. To change your password see:
    Forgot Your Account Password
    For Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks
        Boot to the Recovery HD:
    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the 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.
         When the menubar appears select Terminal from the Utilities menu.
         Enter resetpassword at the prompt and press RETURN. Follow
         instructions in the dialog window that will appear.
         Or see Reset a Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Password, OS X Mountain Lion- Reset a login password,
         and OS X Lion- Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password.
    For Snow Leopard and earlier with installer DVD
         Mac OS X 10.6- If you forget your administrator password
    For Snow Leopard and earlier without installer DVD
        How to reset your Mac OS X password without an installer disc | MacYourself

  • How do I find the administrator name is 10.7?

    how do I find the administrator name is 10.7?

    You can use reset password utility to find out the names of the users.
    You are not going to rest password here.
    Reset Password starting from Recovery HD
    Start the computer,then press and hold down command and R keys to start into recovery partition.
    When you see the Apple logo, release the keys.
    Wait until  OS X Utilities window shows up.
    Move the mouse to the menubar at the top and click "Utilities", then select "Terminal"
    from the drop down.
    Terminal window will appear.
    Type in   resetpassword   and press enter on the keyboard.
    Leave the Terminal window open.
    Reset Password Utility window will open with Macintosh HD selected.
    Select the user account from the popup menu box.
    Click inside the box and that should reveal the names.
    Stop here. Close windows and quit all apps and restart.
    Finder > Macintosh HD > Users
    You can find the shortnames there.

  • Forgotten administrator name and password for parental controls

    hi. I've forgotten my administrator name and password for parental controls on my childs school macbook air. it has latest update and operating systems.

    You are the administrator, so you should look at the name associated with your /Users/user_name/ folder or Home folder.
    Forgot Your Account Password
    For Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks
        Boot to the Recovery HD:
    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the 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.
         When the menubar appears select Terminal from the Utilities menu.
         Enter resetpassword at the prompt and press RETURN. Follow
         instructions in the dialog window that will appear.
         Or see:
           Reset a Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Password
           OS X Mountain Lion- Reset a login password,
           OS X Mavericks- Solve password problems,
           OS X Lion- Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password.
    For Snow Leopard and earlier with installer DVD
         Mac OS X 10.6- If you forget your administrator password,
         OS X- Changing or resetting an account password (Snow Leopard and earlier).
    For Snow Leopard and earlier without installer DVD
        How to reset your Mac OS X password without an installer disc | MacYourself
        Reset OS X Password Without an OS X CD — Tech News and Analysis
        How To Create A New Administrator Account - Hack Mac

  • Forgot administrator name and password

    I cannot remember the administrator name and password that I set up when first using macbook pro. How can I find these?

    You must back up all data before continuing, unless you've already done so. If you need to back up but can't log in, ask for instructions.
    If the user account is associated with an Apple ID, and you know the Apple ID password, then maybe the Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password.
    Otherwise*, boot into Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select
    Utilities ▹ Terminal
    from the menu bar. In the Terminal window, type this:
    res
    Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:
    resetpassword
    Press return. A Reset Password window opens.
    Select your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if not already selected.
    Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.
    Follow the prompts to reset the password. It's safest to choose a password that includes only the characters a-z, A-Z, and 0-9.
    Select
     ▹ Restart
    from the menu bar.
    You should now be able to log in with the new password, but your Keychain will be reset (empty.) If you've forgotten the Keychain password (which is ordinarily the same as your login password), there's no way to recover it.
    *Note: If you've activated FileVault, this procedure doesn't apply. Follow instead the instructions on this page:
    If you forget the password and FileVault is on

  • How can I change the administrator name?

    I'm getting ready to sell my old I-mac. How do I change the administrator name or delete it?

    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 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. If this is not possible then simply erase the drive. 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.

  • How do i change the administrator name and password when i forgot both of them

    how do i change the administrator name and password when i forgot both of them?

    Find the user name and then reset the password.
    Start the computer,then press and hold down command and R keys to start into recovery partition.
    When you see the Apple logo, release the keys.
    Wait until  OS X Utilities window shows up.
    Move the mouse to the menubar at the top and click "Utilities", then select "Terminal"
    from the drop down.
    Terminal window will appear.
    Type in   resetpassword   and press enter on the keyboard.
    Leave the Terminal window open.
    Reset Password Utility window will open with Macintosh HD selected.
    Select the user account from the popup menu box under “Select user account”.
    Note down the user account name.
    Enter a new password.
    Reenter the new password for the user.
    Note it down.
    Enter a hint.
    Click the "Save" button.
    Click  in the menubar and select Restart.
    Log in.
    If Keychain dialog box appears, select “Create New Keychain”.

  • Administrator name & password

    Under System Preferences
    Then Users & Groups
    I'm trying to use my Administrator name & password with no luck it's not accepting.
    I've tried: resetting Apple used ID
    Signing in as a guest
    reaching out to the community
    reading articles that go on & on
    Can someone please help
    Thank you
    Tom H

    Reboot your Mac into Recovery Mode by holding the Command-R keys simultaneously when you hear the boot chimes. When you see the OS X tools panel with options to restore from backup, use Disk Utility, and reinstall OS X, go to the Utilities menu and choose Terminal. In here, type "resetpassword" (all one word, and all lowercase), and then press Enter. A tool will pop up that will allow you to select your boot drive, choose your admin account, and change its password. Note that after doing this, the admin account's keychain will be uncoupled from login, so you will have to unlock it separately; however, the keychain likely has the same password as the account, so if this cannot be remembered, then you will have to create a new one (you will be prompted to do this as one option when you log in).

  • What if I don't remember my administrator name and password

    How Do I change my administrator name and password?

    Your admin "name" is the filename you find under the user folder in your /Users/ folder. For the password see:
    Forgot Your Account Password
    For Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks
        Boot to the Recovery HD:
    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the 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.
         When the menubar appears select Terminal from the Utilities menu.
         Enter resetpassword at the prompt and press RETURN. Follow
         instructions in the dialog window that will appear.
         Or see:
           Reset a Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Password
           OS X Mountain Lion- Reset a login password,
           OS X Mavericks- Solve password problems,
           OS X Lion- Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password.
    For Snow Leopard and earlier with installer DVD
         Mac OS X 10.6- If you forget your administrator password,
         OS X- Changing or resetting an account password (Snow Leopard and earlier).
    For Snow Leopard and earlier without installer DVD
        How to reset your Mac OS X password without an installer disc | MacYourself
        Reset OS X Password Without an OS X CD — Tech News and Analysis
        How To Create A New Administrator Account - Hack Mac

  • How to change the administrator name

    I have tried to change the administrator name on a Macbook pro that I recently sold. I used the following:
    Rebooted and held the command and s button, pressed enter and ended up with the following at the prompt: bash-3.2#.
    I was trying to get to the root directory in order to continue with:
    mount uw /
    rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
    shutdown -h now
    I saw a video that said this would allow the new user to start fresh and type in his information however the
    bash-3.2# does not allow me to

    When you reinstall the OSX, you can change not only the password but the administrator as well.
    Ciao.

  • After a year of no use and a fully discharged battery, my MacBook Pro refuses to accept the administrator name and the password. How can I reset these?

    After a year of no use and a resulting fully discharged battery, the MacBook Pro refuses to recognize the administrator name and password (both). It has system OS X 10.6 which can not be upgraded without the information. How can I reset or reistall the administrator name and password?

    Thanks to all who responded. You are all absolutely correct. However, this Ipad was a gift to my wife who was dying of cancer in the hospital and wanted some entertainment. So I started it out with her Apple ID. After she passed away I moved from Sacramento to Austin and eventually proceeded to get the Apple ID changed from my wife's to mine. Meanwhile when she was in the hospital I opened an Itunes account in my name to buy movies for her. That was the first mistake.
    Then during the move to Austin I lost track of the IPAD and later found it and tried to use support but could not remember the proper ID. Later the folks at the Apple store helped me create a new and novel Apple ID that was unfortunately unlike any other.
    The botom line is that I am stuck with three Apple IDs and three passwords. I am told by Apple there is nothing they can do about this as IDs cannot be changed or destroyed. I can quit using them or start a new account but when I try to do that the system keeps remembering too many things from the past and resists.
    Even if I sold this Ipad and bought a new one, the system memory is still there.
    I think the real problem is that destop and laptop computers are totally owned by an individual and that individual can control logins and passwords to his liking. IPADs and similar Apple products are different in that the corporation has built in their own intrusion detection schemes because of the relation to Itunes.
    One thing I thought about is to open a new Itunes account pretendding to be a new customer with my regular Apple ID. Perhaps I could do the same with Apple Support.
    Thanks for your comments.
    RAZ

  • I'm trying to download an app that is not from the app store and it needs my administrations name and password

    I need help, I want to download the app called 'popcorn time' from online. I know it has no side effects because my friend has used this app for a number of years on her mac computer. I found it on the internet and have nearly downloaded it but my security system won't let me I followed the instructions to get the security system to make an exception for this app but at the end of the instructions it has a log-in pop up that says  "OS X is trying to allow an item to always run. Type an administrator's name and password to allow this." I don't know what it means by an administrators name and password I typed my apple ID but this didn't work. I checked if i had the right password and i did and i have tried it multiple times but it still doesn't work this is very frustrating and I need to fix it

    Answered in the other thread you posted in:
    i am trying to download new software and my mac keeps asking for the administrator name and password... i enter my apple…
    Please don't post in more than one place. It can lead to people wasting their time answering a question which has already been answered elsewhere.

  • Error entering administrator name & password to make System Prefs changes

    I have been running Leopard with just fine but encountered this new problem today. I wanted to create a "Guest" account, but when I clicked on the lock in the System Preferences: Users screen to add that option, I typde in my administrator name & password and got this error:
    "Sorry, you entered an invalid username or password. Please try again."
    It accepts my password when logging in, for keychain access, etc... But I'm not able to unlock & make changes with the same username & password. I tried logging in to make the changes in System Preferences under another user who is also an admin, but I got the same error message using that user's name & password.
    This is a new problem for me. I unlocked & added a user account for my kids with no problems just last week and haven't made any changes to my password or account name since then.
    Any thoughts on how to fix this issue? Thanks in advance!

    I'm having a similar problem, since the 10.5.1 upgrade (I downloaded the 110MB version, as Apple readily admits that there are problems when using Software Update for upgrades).
    I ran Disk Utility to repair permissions on my boot drive, and it prompted me for my administrator password (something that I've only had to do since the upgrade to 10.5). This time, the user name was blank (usually it fills in the user name with the account name I'm logged in under). I entered the information, and got the error. Double checked everything, and still no luck. After a third attempt, I was told I had to wait a while before trying again.
    I'm hoping there's some simple fix or something I can easily to type in. I don't want to wait a few more weeks for Apple to release another patch, and I don't want to have to step back to an even more unstable version so I can use Disk Utility.
    ~Trilo~

  • I cannot download a programme as it is not accepting my administrator name (my name) and password (I know my password is correct)

    I am currently in Ghana and am trying to download a programme to make my modem work. 
    When i download a new program or go to update spotify for example, in order to allow the changes my mac requires me to enter the administrator name and password.
    I know the password as when i log into my computer on use this works.
    However when the tab comes up to download/etc the name for the administrator does not come up, and so i copy the name that it says on the system preferences accounts information. this does not work (it is my name).
    I
    cant download snow leopard as i need a digitial copy which isnt in store online - and dont wanna send it to ghana.
    Please help??

    If the machine was upgraded to Lion 10.7.x by the original owner then you bought an illegal license of Lion and also of any other applications that the seller  said came pre-installed, this assumes the seller did not include original install media. In that case you need to contact the seller for the original install DVDs that came with the machine re-install up to Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and then purchase Mountain Lion ($20) and the applications you want or need. If the seller cannot come up with the original install discs then you can buy them from a nominal cost from AppleCare..

  • Administrator name and password

    I can't download any new software or make any changes on my computer because that requires an administrator name and password. Somehow, I am only a standard user on my computer and I am the only account on the computer (besides system administrator (root). I've used my install disc multiple times to change my password, but that doesn't work when I enter my user name and the new password when the computer asks for an administrator name and password. It just says password is invalid and administrator name and password is required. any warranty and technical support has expired and I'm at a loss at what to do. I really need to download new software and need to somehow recover the original administrator name and password and change my standard user account to an administrator account. I'd appreciate any help or advice!

    Hello,
    dell Windows XP
    Your situation isn't clear. If you are asking about an Apple product you should change your profile to reflect this, and then start your own thread, providing more details. If you are running Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and have a question about a user account, go to this page:
    http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1220
    and click on "Post New Topic"

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