What should I do if I forgot my admin password in Mac?
I recently ran into an issue where I forgot my admin password in Mac. It has been incredibly frustrating as I can no longer log in to my account or make any administrative changes to my system. This problem has locked me out of performing essential updates and installations and even accessing critical files that require admin privileges. I tried several password combinations that I could remember but none seem to work. I am worried that I might have to reset my whole system, which is something I would like to avoid. I’ve read about various methods for resetting or recovering passwords, but I’m getting overwhelmed with information and I’m unsure which method is safe and effective. The situation is urgent as my work depends heavily on accessing applications and settings that require the admin password. How should I proceed to regain access to my Mac without losing my data?
4 Answers
Another way is to use the Recovery Mode for more in-depth troubleshooting:
1. Reboot your Mac and press Command (⌘) + R to boot into Recovery Mode.
2. Once in Recovery, select Terminal from the Utilities menu.
3. In Terminal, type ‘resetpassword’ (no space) and hit Enter.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to reset the password and then restart normally.
If you have an Apple ID linked to your Mac, you can reset your admin password using this ID. Here’s how:
1. Restart your Mac and wait for the login screen to appear.
2. Click the question mark icon next to the password field, then choose ‘reset it using your Apple ID.’
3. Enter your Apple ID credentials and follow the instructions to reset the password.
4. Once reset, you can use the new password to log in.
If you have set up another admin account on your Mac (perhaps a contingency or shared access), you can use that:
1. Log into the alternative admin account.
2. Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups, and select your locked account.
3. Click the ‘Reset Password’ button and enter a new password for the locked account.
4. Log out and then log back into your original admin account using the new password.
For those who are more tech-savvy, here’s an advanced method using Single User Mode:
1. Restart your Mac and hold Command (⌘) + S as it boots.
2. You’ll enter Single User Mode with a command prompt.
3. Type the following commands one by one, pressing Enter after each:
– /sbin/fsck -fy
– /sbin/mount -uw /
– launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.opendirectoryd.plist
– dscl . -passwd /Users/username newpassword (replace ‘username’ with your actual username and ‘newpassword’ with the new desired password)
4. Reboot the Mac by typing reboot.