bypassing GUI login with lost password

[jerseyjeff]

Hi - some guy left his G4 powerbook at the company without the password after he quit. I have been trying to open it up without the pw, but so far have only limited luck. It is running OS X 10.3.9. Anyhow, I tried starting up in Apple Script, holding down command-s, and I am able to open the window. I can complete system startup but once the system is started, I don't get any further response. The closest I came is that I can open up the hard drive if I connect it to a host G5 of mine, and start up holding down T, and then I get the hard drive to appear on the host screen. I can open the hard drive, see the files etc, but I cannot get into system prefs and create a new account and make it the admin. I can see everything on there, but I don't see how to change access. I can boot up the host computer on the powerbooks HD but it still wants the password which I don't got. I want to be able to get in and change the pw from the current one so I can use this. Any ideas? Thanks. -jj

 

[srf4real]

Put in Tiger dvd while hoding down 'C' key. That is, unless you need his data. oH, and by the way, that dude will be back for his apple.

 

[jerseyjeff]

bypass login GUI

Put in Tiger dvd while hoding down 'C' key. That is, unless you need his data.

I tried firing it up with the G5 install disk, but when the page opened I got a message that said "You can't install software on this machine" Of course I wasn't trying to install, I was just trying to boot it up. I thought because it was a G5 install disk, that was the problem, but I was told that should work. It doesn't. I also tried a 9.2 install disk and that didn't work either.

 

[jerseyjeff]

bypass GUI login

I tried firing it up with the G5 install disk, but when the page opened I got a message that said "You can't install software on this machine" Of course I wasn't trying to install, I was just trying to boot it up. I thought because it was a G5 install disk, that was the problem, but I was told that should work. It doesn't. I also tried a 9.2 install disk and that didn't work either.

I know I could just go out and by a new So Dimm and put that in, but I was trying to avoid losing all the data and also the expense.

 

[ITASOR]

Boot from a retail Panther or Tiger disk and you can change the password. You don't need to reinstall, you can change the password without loosing data.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=151815

 

[jerseyjeff]

bypass GUI login

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=151815

When I hold down C, it won't let me in. It says "You cannot install software on this Mac"

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Use the original disk(s), or a retail version, not the G5's disk(s).