Well fuck shit balls.

[Smythe]

My mother, not a very "tech-savvy" woman.
Earlier this week she changed the password on one of our imacs, now she can't remember it :/
Anybody know how to at least transfer all the data on it to a hard-drive or something? D: this has all my modding stuff on it
thanks.

[kiddten]

1. Reboot
2. Hold apple key + s key down after you hear the chime. (command + s on newer Macs)
3. When you get text prompt enter in these terminal commands to create a brand new admin account (hitting return after each line):

mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown -h now

that should make you a brand new admin account.

[Modzy]

Just use the OS DVD and change the password back. You'll need to create a new keychain, but meh.

[Smythe]

o.O thank you guys.
Now to see if it worked!

[Excend]

rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone

Eww.

[Mgalekgolo]

rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone

Eww.

This no longer works on snow leopard last time I checked. I did it on my panther though. Use the install disk.

[draconic74]

Actually, better question here. How did your mom go to the preferences, select the account, unlock the settings, hit change password, then type in the old password and some random new one, confirm it and hit apply, and not think anything was wrong.

Generally, you have to be somewhat tech-savvy to even find the change password tab. Guess OSX is easier to use after all. I can hardly figure out why Windows keeps playing things so damn loud on headphones but not speaker and why it refuses half the time to use my headphones in the first place. It seems to also put random programs' sound to one of the two, with seemingly no rhyme or reason. I think Windows is a bit retarded.

[Excend]

The problem was that she forgot the password she changed it to, not that she accidentally changed it...

[draconic74]

If it wasn't something she was going to remember then why change it in the first place?

[Excend]

Well I'm going to go ahead and guess that she probably assumed she would remember it.

[draconic74]

Well. Anyways... Did you get it working again?

[Amy]

Obviously Drac isn't used to not tech savvy people forgetting their passwords...all...the...time.

[draconic74]

Well... Tech savvy enough to know how to change a password but not to remember it.

There is a reason I have an Excel file with all my passwords in it. Which of course is itself passworded. So aside from that, my university account and my admin on this computer, there isn't much more I need to remember. If I won't remember it, it's in that file. Which is why in another 5 years I will still remember the pass to this site.

[kiddten]

Correcthorsebatterystaple.

[draconic74]

Correcthorsebatterystaple.

Exactly