Every computer user around the world has forgotten their password at least a few times, be it the password of their email account or the password for the computer itself.
Here in this ‘how to’ we will focus on how to reset the Apple Mac/MacBook password.
Sometimes people forget their admin account password, and if this happens to you, there is nothing to worry about.
Let us consider the scenario where we assume that you haven’t locked the OpenFirmware. If that is the case, then it is a straightforward task to reset the admin password for Apple Mac/MacBook. Here is the procedure:
- Boot the Apple Mac/MacBook in a single user mode and hold Apple+S when the system is booting.
- On the shell, enter this line: #sh /etc/rc.
- Enter the following command: #passwd.
- Reboot the system by entering the following command: #reboot.
There are times when users might even forget their username. In this case, he or she can look in the /Users folder and search for the directories named by username or execute “neutral -list . /users” on the shell. If you have an older Apple Mac/MacBook system, the /etc/rc script isn’t available. In that case, if the 2nd step fails, you can try to mount and start the base services manually using the following commands:
- #/sbin/fsck –y
- #/sbin/mount -uw /
- #/sbin/SystemStarter
Be aware that once this method is accepted, all passwords stored in your keychain will be lost.