
Some of them are rather Unix-geeky and can make a novice user nervous.
RESET MAC PASSWORD WITHOUT OLD PASSWORD PASSWORD
To be clear, there are several technical ways to reset the administrator password on a Mac if you cannot log in.
RESET MAC PASSWORD WITHOUT OLD PASSWORD INSTALL
Nowadays, there is no install disc provided with OS X, and so an alternative method is necessary. If a user forgot the administrator password, perhaps the simplest way (of several) would be to use that disc to set a new administrator password and regain control of the Mac. The old Keychain will not be deleted but is inaccessible unless the old password can be provided.In the early years of OS X, the Mac operating system was sold on a DVD.

If you do reset your user account password, OS X will have no choice but to create a new Keychain for your user account and any saved passwords for apps like Twitter will have to be entered again. This security feature is by design so that someone cannot maliciously reset your OS X password, log in and then find out all your other passwords for services such as online banking that may have been saved. If you opt to continue logging in, you’ll simply be bombarded with messages about various apps and services being unable to access the Keychain.Īs you may have confidential passwords and information stored within your Keychain, OS X explicitly requires a password and it cannot be reset. Since your Keychain password can only be changed and not reset, you’ll need to select Create New Keychain. On the first time you log in after resetting your password using any method, not just with an Apple ID, OS X may display a message about being unable to access your Keychain. A warning dialog will appear explaining that a new Keychain will be created since OS X prevents the Keychain password from being reset.Īfter confirming, you can then specify a new password for your OS X account. Resetting a Password with an Apple IDīack at the OS X login window, if the password is entered incorrectly a number of times then a message will appear asking if you’d like to reset your password using your Apple ID.Ĭlick the ▸ button to continue the process of resetting your Mac password.Įnter your Apple ID credentials and click Reset Password. Enter your Apple ID and password when prompted.įinally, make sure to check the option Allow user to reset password using Apple ID. Select your user account and in the section for Apple ID, click Set…. To link your Apple ID to your OS X user account, launch System Preferences and select Users & Groups.

The benefit of using this is that you don’t need anyone else’s assistance to reset your password, nor be concerned with using OS X Recovery.įor Mac system administrators, allowing users to tie their Apple ID to their local OS X account can mean fewer password reset requests since the user can just do it themselves. OS X Lion and above have included a feature to link an Apple ID to your Mac’s local user account for the purpose of resetting a forgotten password. Should you forget your password or if it has been changed without your knowledge, you can reset it yourself without the assistance of another user or the process of booting the Mac into OS X Recovery. If you forget your OS X account password then it can be reset by either another user, provided they have administrator privileges, or through OS X Recovery.Ī new password recovery feature introduced with OS X Lion is the option of assigning an Apple ID to your OS X user account.
