User account? urgent help

Ok so i bought my computer second hand and I foolishly tried to change the details on it without knowing what i was doing. My problem is that i was playing around with the user accounts and the next time i turned my computer on i lost everything on my computer. I have no files, pictures or anything at all (excuse the language but i dont know anything about computers). I took the computer to the apple store but they couldnt really help. I tried explaining that their was only one user account you can log on as but when you look on the hard drive for some reason there are two users. So my question is....if you swap user accounts do you lose all your files and is that what ive done??? Does any1 have an explanation?? It is urgent because i have uni work that i didnt back up and lost Thank you

Hi taddy14, and a warm welcome to the forums!
Did you rename your home folder by any chance? The one with the house icon. If you did follow these steps:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5786967&#5786967
Return to default desktop, apparent "loss" of home directory, (it can happen spontaneously too)...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107854
ChangeShortName 10.4 only...
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/16620

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Directory Structure - My Dad has multiple user accounts, needs help

My father (who is 87) has an iMac with OS 10.6.5 installed, apparently from a full install disk with upgrades.
The problem is, he has previous user accounts created under Leopard and Tiger, also in his name (with slight variations). The ~Applications folders in these old user accounts contain older versions of Safari, iPhoto, etc. etc. I think the Tiger user account was moved from an older Mac using migration assistant.
He auto-logs in under his 10.6.5 user identity, but has forgotten his user passwords for the two other accounts.
His dock icons point to various applications in the ~Applications folder on all 3 user accounts. So, for example, when he tries to access Disk Utility from the Dock, it says "this version of Disk Utility is incompatible with your system" (because it was created by Tiger).
He asked me for help with a seemingly simple printer issue, and the more I dug into his system, the worse it got.
How can I delete his two inactive user accounts without a) knowing the passwords and b) losing photos and documents proper to those accounts?

1. You need to be able to authenticate as an administrator (if his current account is an administrative account this will work). Just go to accounts, click the lock icon, and authenticate with his password. Then delete the accounts.
2. Before deleting the old accounts go to Finder and navigate to the home folders of the old users. Ctrl-Click on the folders, click on the lock icon, authenticate with an administrative account, and then add a sharing permission that allows his current account or all administrator accounts to read and write. You can then read and copy (and delete if need be) whatever files you need.

Made a mess with Migration Assistant, Two user accounts. Help!

I got a new MacBook Pro Retina with Yosemite. Tried to use migration assistant to take files from my old 2008 MacBook (I only wanted photos, videos, music and documents - no applications, etc). After an excrutiatingly long time, I've made a mess of my new MacBook Pro. I now have two user accounts with my name. How do I delete the second? I have tried going into system preferences > users and push the delete key. This DOES NOT work! It makes that ping noise. I am computer slow so please help me with step by step directions on how to delete the extra user.
Also, I have now realized that this awful new MacBook Pro Retina has no disc drive and I have a 2008 Microsoft word CD I want to install. What can I do here?
For the record, I'm hating this new computer.
Thank you guys!

1. Log out of the account you want to delete, unlock the Users & Groups pane, select it, and then delete it.
2. Use an external optical drive such as Apple's USB SuperDrive, or one inside another computer.
(122445)

Customization of User Accounts & Tables Help

Hi , im new here.
- I've done with my installation.
- Im able to log in with scott // tiger .
Now i would like to customise the user accounts and tables.
I have an instruction sheet given by my teacher.
It tells me to log with -
Username : system
Password : (my own System Password during installation)
Ok, im able to log in.
Then it tells me to create Oracle database users ,
by entering "@e:\creatut\create_user" at SQL prompt.
Im stuck at this step.
It shows : SP2-0310: unable to open file "e:\creatut\create_user.sql"
can anyone help me with this ?
i've followed the steps correctly and did not miss out anything ?
Any help would be appreciated

hmm ..
actually my purpose is to log in to a database which is already created ,
i need to access the database to do my lab practical at home.
Ok the steps in the instruction sheet are as follows :
1)
Log In With :
Username : system
Password : (My own password during installation)
Host String : (My own host string)
At SQL prompt type :
"@e:\creatut\create_user"
Exit SQLplus
2)
Log In With :
Username : u
Password : u
Host string : (My own host string)
At SQL prompt type :
"@e:\creatut\blddemo.sql"
Exit SQLplus
3)
Log In With :
Username : orausr
Password : orausr
Host string : (My own host string)
At SQL prompt type :
select *
from u.emp;
(some results will show on the screen) ,
those are the tables which are created for us students, i need those tables, yea.
The problem is im stuck at 1) , after i've typed " @e:\creatut\blddemo.sql "
i've tried the command you told me, but i dont know whats that :p

I have recently transferred data from my old PC to my new Mac Book Pro (Mavericks OS). Each transfer creates a new User account (titled 'Owner', 'Owner 1', etc). I want to merge the files from these transfers into my main user account. Help?

I have recently transferred data from my old PC to my new Mac Book Pro (Mavericks OS). Each transfer creates a new User account (titled 'Owner', 'Owner 1', etc). I want to merge / consolidate the files from these newly created User accounts into my main user account. Is there a tutorial for this process, or any tips? Anyone?

Four transfers. After the initial attempt with Migration Assistant failed (after hours and hours of wifi transfer) I did "mini-transfers" of more manageable, smaller bits of files -- my music in one, photos in another, etc. Since posting my question in this forum, i contacted Apple support, chatted with Angela, and she suggested getting an ethernet-USB adapter for my mac, connecting my external drive with ethernet and transferring files manually -- that is, NOT using the Migration Assistant at all. She sent me this link to help: Switch Basics: Migrate your Windows files to your Mac. I appreciate your response, tho', Csound1!

VPN users Accounting : Please Help

Hello All,
I want account the number are users connected to network via VPN also who are they and what they are doing. I have configured local database(on router) for VPN users.
How to do the same.Please provide any link or document to do the same.
Abhisar.

Hi Abhisar,
The following link will give you details of how to configure radius on the router:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/12_0/security/configuration/guide/scrad.html
You can configure the command authorization and accounting for the requirement you mentioned.
Hope that helps.
Regards,
Anisha
P.S.: Please mark this thread as answered if you feel your query is resolved. Do rate helpful posts.

No admin account URGENT HELP PLEASE :(

so basically i have the most recent macbook (10.6.4 snow leopard). It is a school laptop so if we have any problems we have to take it to our school IT people. I really want to avoid this because they take forever and their way of fixing something is to wipe everything clean.
Getting to the point, i was recently changing some user settings when i realised that my laptop was telling me that i needed an admin name and password. I entered my details but it still wouldn't let me in. i then realised that my account had been set to 'standard'. I have browsed through numerous forums to find the answer but the majority of them say that you have to reimage your laptop. I do have everything backed up so i dont really care if that is the thing i have to do. The problem is that to make any change i must have an admin name and password which defeats the whole purpose.
im really stuck and dont know what to do please help me

i have all the disks including another one that the school supplied that installs iwork and ilife. I cant seem to get single user mode or boot up with the disk (maybe my timing is wrong?). i was really trying to avoid giving it in to the IT department but looks like i will have to now. im leaving my school at the end of the year for another school that dosent give laptops (they kept them and you can borrow them from the library for about 2 weeks if you need a computer) so i would have to give it back (you can only keep it if you leave at the end of year 12 because they aren't worth much after 3 years of being used 24/7 so my dad says that he might buy this laptop of my current school for a reduced price (they were bought late 2009 and distributed a little before the middle of the year) so i want to make sure that my laptop is perfect if that ends up going through.
but if anyone has any more ideas its only saturday so ive still got time to try them out. thanks again for everyones help so far :P

I have three user accounts on one computer. On only one account when I when I check Help - About fire fox only one user account says apply update and won't apply. The other two work fine.

One of three user accounts on the same computer appears to not be updating to 8.0.1 correctly. One admin and one none admin user account says it is up-to-date. The other non-admin user account, under Help About Firefox says apply update, but won't.

As long as you installed MS Office into its default location (the top level /Applications folder) it will be available to all user accounts on the Mac.
As far as licensing is concerned you only have to enter the license code once, which you should do right after installing MS Office, in the same admin account you installed it from, by opening any one of the MS Office applications. There is no additional licensing required for additional user accounts on the same Mac.
Each user account is able to run the Office apps. The only thing you will have to do is go through an initial setup screen in each user account (but this setup does NOT involve entering any additional license codes).
You may have problems if you installed MS Office in a particular user account (i.e. NOT in the top level /Applications folder).

Help needed, M getting this message sandbox environment error no test user account, when downloading any application from iTunes, friend told me to sign out and sign in iTunes it might solve the problem but instead I cannot login I to my itune account.

Help needed,
I am getting this message sandbox environment error no test user account, when downloading any application from iTunes, friend told me to sign out and sign in iTunes it might solve the problem , and i triyed it but still I cannot login I to my itune account. Same message keeping. Popping up, this problem started supricly today.

Take a look at the instructions here.
http://www.technogal.net/2012/03/this-is-not-test-user-account-please.html

Locked out of my user account - can anyone help please!?

Hi all
I have a rather annoying issue that only happened a few hours ago and I have come here to ask for help if I may because I do not have the experience to resolve it on my own.
Here goes.. Using my 2009 mbp, running snow leopard 10.6, computer hangs with spinning ball, try to shutdown and it just hangs. So I shutdown with the power button and when I power up I find I cannot access my standard user account with everything in it - I get a message saying " cannot access account at this time due to an error" .
The mbp I'm using has two drives : one intel ssd for osx and program's and a hitachi hdd for storage. The hitachi drive is in a caddy in the place of the SuperDrive and the SuperDrive is now in an external enclosure and the intel ssd in the hard drive bay.
Things I have tried :
I have booted in safe mode - same error message.
Cleared PRAM - same error message.
Booted from system disc and tried to reset password - same error message.
Ran disc utility from cd and I see that the hitachi hdd is not mounted - it will not let me mount the volume, first aid sees that it's still alive but that's all it will do.
The intel ssd checks out just fine in disc utility first aid - I repaired permissions.
I suspect the hitachi hdd is at fault but would really like someone's educated opinion if that's ok? As all my data is on it and stupidly I have not backed all of it up.
I am having to send this from my iPhone !
Many thanks
David

It sounds like the Hitachi with your home folder may have died or become problematic, in one way or another. This won't solve that problem, but it may help to get you to be able to at least log in. These instructions are for resetting a password with a CD, not your issue, but it will allow you to create a new admin account, so at least you will be able to login. Not sure what will solve the problem with the Hitachi, if it won't mount because, for all intents and purposes, it's dead. If that's the case--and can't be certain it is--you might need some kind of recovery software. (Google that for Mac. There are many available programs.) That booting in Safe Mode doesn't fix the issue is not a good sign.
Make certain you give this new account admin privileges.
Reset Mac Password – without a CD or Boot Drive
reset mac password Using a pretty nifty trick you can reset a forgotten Mac password without a Mac OS X installer CD/DVD or any kind of boot drive or recovery partiton, and without having an Apple ID. This is basically the be-all-end-all approach if nothing else works, because it’s guaranteed to get you back into a Mac when the other options are available, and it works in literally all versions of OS X. The steps may seem a little intimidating at first but I assure you it’s easy if you follow them exactly, here is exactly how to do this in three stages:
Stage 1) Boot into Single User Mode and remove a setup file
    Restart the Mac holding down the Command+S keys, this will take you into Single User Mode and it’s Terminal interface
    You’ll need to check the filesystem first:
    fsck -fy
    Next, you must mount the root drive as writeable so that changes will save:
    mount -uw /
    Now, type the following command exactly, followed by the enter key:
    rm /var/db/.applesetupdone
    reset forgot mac password
    After removing the applesetupdone file, you need to reboot, type ‘reboot’ and hit enter
Stage 2) Create a New User Account upon System Boot
You aren’t finished, but the hard part is now over – no more command lines, you’ll now be in the familiar Mac OS X GUI to finish the password reset process. In this step we just create a new user account as if you just got a new Mac:
    Upon reboot, you will be presented with the traditional “Welcome Wizard” startup screen just like when you first get a Mac
    Follow the welcome wizard and create a new user account – making the account name different from the account whose password you want to recover
    Continue on and boot into Mac OS X with this newly created user account, this new user account is an Administrator and has administrative access
http://osxdaily.com/2010/08/10/forgot-mac-password-how-to-reset-mac-password/

Please help! Bizarre login/user account problem

In 24 years of using Macs, this is the most frustrating thing I've ever faced and I am in desperate need of help.
For the entire story of my circumstances, see below. The short version of my problem: My auto-login user account is corrupt but I can't figure out how to bypass/interrupt it so I can log in to a different user account. Is there a way to use Single User Mode to do this - to get to the regular login screen where I can enter a different user name and password???
I follwed the steps outlined by Michael in this thread, but it did not work
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1124380
Any expedient help is greatly appreciated, I'm in dire straights...my Mac has been down for a week with this problem and my work is suffering.
Thanks in advance,
-Nelson
Here's the long version of how I arrived at these circumstances:
I have a single (admin level) user account on my new Mac Pro, with auto-login enabled. The home folder is on a separate internal drive (bay 2) from the OS/applications (bay 1). Out of nowhere, I got the error "You are unable to log in to the user account. Login failed because an error occurred." I was not able to login to my machine. When I tried to boot from my bootable clone backup, got the same error. Tried to boot from the Leopard install DVD, got the 5-language kernel panic screen. Off to the Apple Store.
It didn't occur to me at this time to mention my Home folder being on a 2nd drive, that was my mistake #1. They ended up replacing the logic board and RAM riser cards, neither of which was remotely related to the problem. In the process, they were able to create a new admin-level 'test' user account, and got the machine up and running again. At this point they noticed that there was no other user/Home folder present on the startup drive and at this point I told them that it was located on drive 2. That drive was not appearing in the finder, so apparently it had croaked - and knowing this pretty much explained the original problem, to me at least.
I get home, log in as Test, delete my old user account, create a new user account and put the Home folder for this new account on drive 3. My stupid mistake #2: I used the same name for the new account as my old account, and mistake #3, turned auto-login to this account back on.
But at this point, everything was still working, and I commenced to try to recover my lost Home folder from my Time Machine backup and figure out how to restore all of my system settings, which were wiped out with the creation of the new Test user account. I'll skip over some of the other problems I ran into with Time Machine at this point and get to the real issue: after a couple of successful restarts and logins to my newly created user account (the one with the same name as my old account but with it's Home folder in a different location), the ORIGINAL "You are unable to log in to the user account. Login failed because an error occurred." error has returned.
Now I'm back where I started, and can't figure out how to log in to the Test account that resides on my startup drive, because auto-login is enabled for the 'broken' user account - even though the Home folder for this account is located on a working drive.
I've done tons of searching and can't figure out how to use Single User Mode to login to Test. When I try the login command, it says 'login incorrect', even though I am using the correct user and password. Help!!

well, something is really messed up with those accounts so I would create a new admin account, log into that and go from there.
To do that [enable the root user|http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1278], safe boot, log in as root and create a new admin account, also while you are at it disable the auto login.
You can also work from the root account but I would recommend against it. It's not really safe.

I've created new User account on my PC for separate itunes library/account. Have had to change apple id to do this. When I connect to pc, itunes opens with CDs I've already loaded, but it doesn't recognise ipod. No left panel opens with devices. Help!

Can anyone help? Two ipods with originally one itunes library and (I think) same Apple id). Now need 2 Libraries with separate account for separate buying etc. Recommended I create new library on separate PC User account which I have done together with new apple id. I have added this apple id to the ipod needing separate account. When I hook up, I can't sync. No 'Devices' left panel appears at all. I'm at a loss here so any help woudl be great. Thanks.

If you have iTunes 11 turn on the Sidebar. Go to iTunes>View and click on Show Sidebar. You can also do a Crtl+S to show the sidebar. The sidebar is where Devices appears. and Control+B to show the Menu bar
If necessary:
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows
or
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Mac OS X

HOW TO SHARE MY ITUNES LIBRARY WITH MY WIFE ON SAME IMAC WITH DIFFERENT USER ACCOUNTS AND APPLE ID'S. PLEASE HELP, SOMEBODY!

I just created an Apple Id for my wife and a user account for her. We are on the same computer (iMac). I cant for the love of God get my itunes library to show on her user account on computer. My library shows up under shared library when i select it it just keeps loading and nothing. When i try the hold down option while opening itunes on her user account and then choose library my library doesnt show up as option. What in the world am i doing wrong, why is Apple making this so difficult. We are not going to buy separte computers just to share itunes content. Please help.

You can sync devices with the same iCloud ID, not seperate ones.
If she has a different login on your Mac, make sure she has her own ID defined in System Prefs > iCloud

Firefox has suddenly stopped connecting on one of three user accounts on the same computer. That account still connects with Safari - but not Firefox. A clean-install has not solved the problem. Help?

Three user accounts on the same computer all link to a single copy of Firefox 3.6.8 - but one of them has suddenly lost its ability to use the program. Firefox opens in that account, but it cannot connect to the Internet. 'Done' appears at the lower left of a blank Firefox page [it's set to load a blank page initially], as though a page had finished downloading ... but Firefox does not actually generate any Internet activityx.
Previously, the Firefox connection for this account was smooth and reliable. I haven't added, upgraded or downloaded any new programs, nor made any other computer changes in recent weeks or months.
Puzzlingly - that same account still connects successfully to the Internet via Safari. And the other accounts on the same computer continue to use Firefox with no problem - including a test user-account that I set up today to help troubleshoot the problem. The blockage is restricted solely to Firefox with that one user account.
Following your Support page instructions, I did a clean-install of Firefox 3.6.8, removing both the existing Firefox 3.6.8 and the Library/Application Support/Firefox folder. Going the extra mile, I checked all accounts to be certain that no Firefox folders remained in any of them - then emptied the Trash and restarted before installing a freshly downloaded 3.6.8. But blimey - the blockage still persists for that one user account.
Firefox shows no visible cookies that might influence the connection. [It's set to delete all cookies upon closing anyway.] And I see no obvious instructions in Mac's firewall or any software program to refuse access to Firefox. The computer is stand-alone, not networked. And in any case, Firefox works just fine in the two other user accounts.
Deleting the hobbled user account is not feasible. So what is causing this roadblock? Did I miss a step in the clean-install? How can that account resume using Firefox?
Thanks in advance for your advice.

If files already have been downloaded then remove the files in the updates and updates\0 folder.
You can also delete active-update.xml and possibly updates.xml (stores the update history).
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/Software_Update (Software Update not working properly)
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Mozilla Firefox\updates
(%LOCALAPPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Mozilla Firefox)

I can not open my Safari. It quits unexpectedly. The issue happens with a single user account. It does not happen to anyone else in my family. Please help.

I can not open my Safari. It quits unexpectedly. The issue only happens to a single user account. It does not happen to anyone else in my family. Please help!

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ If you’re running Mac OS X 10.7 or later, open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the page that opens.
Step 1
Enter the name of the crashed application or process in the Filter text field. Post the messages from the time of the last crash, if any — the text, please, not a screenshot.
Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Edit it out by search-and-replace in a text editor before posting.
Step 2
Still in the Console window, look under User Diagnostic Reports for crash reports related to the process. The report name starts with the name of the crashed process, and ends with ".crash". Select the most recent report and post the contents — again, the text, not a screenshot. In the interest of privacy, I suggest that, before posting, you edit out the “Anonymous UUID,” a long string of letters, numbers, and dashes in the header of the report, if it’s present (it may not be.) Please don’t post shutdownStall or hang logs — they're very long and not helpful.

User account? urgent help

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