Startup disk/master password dilemma....

Hi there,
I hope someone can help me here,I`ve already looked in the relevant forums for an answer but nothing really helps. I was trying to find out why my father`s pc printer (lexmark) wouldn`t work on my G4.And I was instructed that maybe I didn`t install panther 10.3 correctly.So I tried re-installing it when it asked about the startup disk I selected macintosh HD.Next thing it`s asking me for the master password and apparently I`ve forgotten it,even after the hint becomes visible,I still have no luck,is there any way I can delete it.I`ve already changed the user passsword,but it`s the master that I can`t get passed.
Thanks Jon
g4 powerbook   Mac OS X (10.3)  

The proper way to reset the pmu is outlined here.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=95037
If you did not enable FileVault then it should not be there. It is not the default installation. You, or someone else, has to go the preferences, open Security, put in a password and enable file vault.
It encrypts everything on your hard drive using your password as a "key" for the encryption. Without the key, all the info is hopelessly scrambled.
Once, years ago, I had a similar problem in that I could not get the password reset and the computer would not accept what had been my password for a year. Obviously a file was corrupted that kept my password. I could not use the password reset by the install disk either. Fortunately I had cloned my hard drive and could boot off of the clone and copy files that were not up to date since the last clone.
At this point I'd say you are going to have to do the same. Use or purchase another hard drive, install X to it, copy your user files and re install your applications.
As an alternative, you could try posting to the Unix forum on Apple Discussions and see if anyone there can help you use command line to get a new password.

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