no admin password for my ibook g4

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh655.html

How to reset your admin password.

boot into single user mode by holding down s on boot

type

ls /Users

and make note of the users... one of them must be an admin

type

passwd username

(where 'username' is one of the users listed when you typed the ls command) and hit return, and you will be propted to set a new passwd

Type

exit

and login using the user name you changed the password for, and the new password you set

Go to System Preferences/Accounts

and make yourself a new account, making yourself an administrator

you don't type in

"passwd usrname"

you type in

passwd justin122
(then return)
to change the password for the user named justin122

You use

ls /Users

to see the name of the users, then use passwd command on one of the usernames

This will only work in single user mode unless you have admin access, as in single user mode you are root

When executed correctly, you will immeditately see the prompt:

New password:

and you type in a new password and hit return

I was drinking wine last night (first drink in months... I'm not an alcoholic or anything, just not my favorite intoxication)... so I apologize, I forgot to mention you need to mount the file system...

So this morning, I was doing some testing, because I hadn't tried this in Tiger yet...

1) run fsck -fy
2) mount -uw /
3) passwd -i netinfo -l /private/var/db/netinfo [username]

and you're right... it doesn't seem to work (worked fine in Panther)

I looked around online, and couldn't find anything specific about this, but it looks like Apple, for security purposes, has again changed the command line passwd command, or disabled it or something... (the man page for passwd hasn't been updated... looks specific to Panther)

wtf?
Anyone know what's changed or what's going on here?

.... Why don't you use the MAC OS X disk to reset the password? I recently had to do this with a eBay purchased 17in Powerbook. Of course you could always cask your sister stacy what her password is and go from there......

and if the Install disc hasn't been acquired? (Its even possible there never was an installation disc. When I purchased an iBook for my girlfriend last year, the store explained to me that only one installation disc was provided for that group of iBooks they purchased to resell... and they hung on to it. Even though it was a brand new computer, there was no installation disc.

Yeah, its the simple way... but if you don't have it, its kind of hard to do.

Of course you could always cask your sister stacy what her password is and go from there......

It sounds like, from the original post, she passed away. So asking won't do much good.

If you don't have the original install disks, perhaps a solution can be reached through someone that has one. What version of Mac OS X do you have?

the passwd command from single-user mode works with Cheetah, Jaguar, and Panther... so, process of elimination... He has Tiger (actually not entirely clear... but its a safe assumption).

....roger that, you're not quite sure.

Break....Justin122, PM me the info and perhaps we can come up with an easier solution.

Yeah, I do it all the time too. I jump right into a thread without reading the whole thing and I assume I know whats going on, and then have to be caught up with the rest of the gang via redundant posts. But... I don't think I've done it more than once on the same thread. Lets all try to pay a little more attention to the details, shall we?

Yeah, I do it all the time too. I jump right into a thread without reading the whole thing and I assume I know whats going on, and then have to be caught up with the rest of the gang via redundant posts. But... I don't think I've done it more than once on the same thread. Lets all try to pay a little more attention to the details, shall we?

Maybe we have a Fritter-wide resolution?

Put the disk in the drive, reboot and hold down the "C" key as soon as you hear the chime. Once you see the grey apple and can hear the disk spinning away in the optical drive, you can let up on the "C" key.

Once you're done booting up, you'll be in the Mac OS X installer program. Click the "Installer" menu, and there should be an option there to "reset password."

Good luck!

If you downloaded the disk, then you may have buurned it wrong. Go back to where you burned it, insert it into the cd drive and make sure you have a bootable disk.

A local Mac shop might be willing to help you, if you explain your situation. It might help to bring other family so that it doesn't look like you are cooking up a story about a stolen laptop, though most theives would just wipe the thing and sell it, so it may not be too tricky to get help. Generally Mac techs should be a bit more helpful... They should have less to do all day.

give this a shot... be patient... this may take a while...

Boot to single user mode (s on reboot)
type these commands at the prompt:

1) fsck -fy ................. [this only takes a few mins]
2) mount -uw / ......... [almost instantaneous]
3) sh /etc/rc ............. [this may take up to an hour]
4) passwd root ..........[this should be quick and painless]
5) reboot

log in as root with the new password
Under the  menu, use System Preferences/Accounts to create a new account for yourself, making yourself an administrator

log out
log back in with your new account

I'm not sure whether this will work if root hasn't been enabled, and its likely that your sister didn't enable root unless she was some supreme geek. You can enable root from the command line single user mode (after sh /etc/rc) by typing
sudo passwd root

which will prompt you to set a root password. Once the root password is set, you've enabled the root account. Reboot, log in as root... etc. (above instructions)

This has to work... or I'm really going to be pissed. (I seem to make a mistake (or forget) when resetting my password at least twice a year... I need this as a safety, even if I have the install discs, because I rarely have install discs with me, and I change my password whenever the notion strikes me)

---

After you have an account, you should probably disable root.
Open /Utilitles/NetInfoManager
pull down Security/Authenticate
then Security/Disable root user
then Security/Deauthenticate
then quit

Left a PM for you

i put the cd in my other laptop and it seemed to b eok(it has windows). so i burned another cd and it did the same thing, it just goes straight to the login screen even when i hold the c button during start up. does anyone know of any other way to change the password on os 10 x tiger? or do i absolutly have to go and buy a new operating system? thanx for all of your help!!!!!!!!!!

Did you burn the CD or DVD from the Windoze laptop? You won't be able to make an HFS+ (Mac-bootable) disc from any Windoze software I'm aware of (feel free to enlighten me if you know of one).

You'll need to make a Mac-bootable disc from a Mac. Usually with Roxio Toast or a similar product.

If it is being burned from an ISO image, it doesn't matter what format it is. The computer only sees a raw stream of the bits to go on the disc.

If it is being burned from an ISO image, it doesn't matter what format it is. The computer only sees a raw stream of the bits to go on the disc.

But a Mac can't BOOT UP from an ISO-9660 disc. It must be BURNED TO an HFS+ disc.

An ISO image doesn't have to be just an ISO 9660 image, it's a general term used for most any image of an optical disc. If the original disc was HFS and an image was made from it, it doesn't matter what burns the image as it's all raw date being layed down, not a filesystem being formatted and filled.

If you have a password you do not know first thing after chime hold down your apple key and s this will bring you into single user mode on the ibook clamshells type in /sbin/fsck -f it will open up the system and check it once that is completed type in /sbin/mount -uw / hit enter
next type in rm /var/db/.applesetupdone hit enter again next type in reboot. This will trick your computer telling it you just installed osx and will let you set up the computer yourself with a new password and username but will not affect any programs on it for the ibook g3 and g4
it is almost the same
command s at startup
/sbin/mount -uw / enter
rm /var/db/.applesetupdone enter
reboot enter
then your done set up your new computer
Thanks