Accidentally enabled parental controls and don't know other admin password!

[joshrobertson19]

I accidentally enabled parental controls on my account. The problem is the other admin account I created I have forgotten the password too. Now my account says 'managed' and there's no way for me to gain admin control and change it.

As my account used to be the main admin account is there no way to gain root access?

I have loads of data I can't lose on here so it's important I don't do a fresh install.
Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks!!

 

[benwiggy]

You'll forgive me if I say that your post sounds like someone trying to circumvent legitimate Parental Controls. You can't enable parental controls without using an admin password to do so.

There are ways to reset the password on OS X: on pre-Lion systems, they require the installer disk; on newer ones they involve booting to the Recovery Partition. Of course, any else who uses that machine will know that the password has been changed next time they use it.

As for your data: surely you have a backup?

 

[joshrobertson19]

Yes I suspected it would. The only thing is my user is the main admin so surely I should be able to get my permissions back?

Is there a way too boot into recovery mode using a similar method to booting into single user mode as I have multiple OS on my disk and holding alt - r just boots into windows (if that makes any sense).

I don't have any backup but as I have never once logged in the other account (hence the forgotten password) maybe there is a way to do a simple re-install??

Thanks for the reply as well

 

[joshrobertson19]

Ok so I worked out what to do for anyone having this or a similar problem using 10.7 or 10.8.

Firstly booted into single user mode using -s at the login.

Then used '/sbin/mount uw /' ** Mount the filesystem
Then 'rm .AppleSetupDone' ** To get setup as if it was a new mac

After that I rebooted and used the setup to create a new admin account.

Finally I logged in and changed my permission to admin and reset the other admin account password.

 

[benwiggy]

You do not need to reinstall the OS. For nearly every problem on OS X, that is a Windows-style "nuke-and-pave" overkill.
EDIT: Your solution of running Apple Setup again to create a new account is also a bit long-winded.

A quick Google for "how to reset the password on OS X" will show you how to boot into Recovery Partition and change the password.

If you have no backup, you can expect to lose files.

 

[joshrobertson19]

You do not need to reinstall the OS. For nearly every problem on OS X, that is a Windows-style "nuke-and-pave" overkill.
EDIT: Your solution of running Apple Setup again to create a new account is also a bit long-winded.

A quick Google for "how to reset the password on OS X" will show you how to boot into Recovery Partition and change the password.

If you have no backup, you can expect to lose files.

Somehow I managed to delete the recovery partition or didn't have one when installed as tried that method first

No files where lost so it's a bit worrying it is that easy to get into someones mac without having any kind of login.

ps. thanks for the help and quick replies!

 

[batyawolfe]

similar issue - please help

I also enabled the Parental Controls and was asked to create another user. I did so and tried the Parental Controls our and did not like it so I stopped using them. Now, for some reason, my passwords are not recognized. I am a stay-at-home mom and I know how to use my mac pretty well but I am NOT a pro and am feeling overwhelmed.
I've left it alone for about a year but now I need to do things, like update my Flashplayer, and I can't because it wont accept the password. I've used the same password on my Macs for five years so it's strange to me that it isn't working.
I did a Google search and found the following on e-how. Is this safe to do??

How to Get Your Admin Password in Mac if You Don't Know It
By Jedadiah Casey, eHow Contributor

Found This Helpful
Apple computers running the Mac OS X operating system allow for the creation of two different kinds of primary user accounts -- administrator and standard. A standard account has limited permissions and requires the password of an administrator account before it is able to make changes to the computer. Without the administrator password, important system changes cannot be made. You can get a new administrator password on the Mac if it is lost or forgotten through single user mode. Have a question? Get an answer from online tech support now!

Instructions
1
Power on or restart the computer, and then immediately press and hold "Command" and "S" until a black screen appears.


2
Type "mount -uw /" without quotes, and then press "Return."




3
Type "launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist" without quotes, and then press "Return."


4
Type "ls /Users" without quotes, and then press "Return." This displays the list of user accounts on the system.


5
Type "dscl . -passwd /Users/account password" without quotes, and then press "Return." Replace "account" with the account needing the administrator password. Replace "password" with the new administrator password.


6
Type "exit" and then press "Return" to reboot the computer.



 

[IceWing10]

Oh well I found a simple trick for El Capitan: Go to Users & Groups, find your account, click on your account, then click on the button that says Open Parental Controls and then in the parental controls page it takes you to click on the gear, click on copy restrictions, then click paste restrictions and it will let you edit restrictions in a glitched menu.

For High Sierra: Go straight to Parental Controls, click on the lock, and as the administrator name put: root. for the password, don't select it and put your cursor over it and press enter until it works.
To reset your password (you need to be logged in to your account): got to Users & Groups, click on your account, then click on Change Password.

It's as simple as that. Or you can use the other methods of hold Command+S on the bootup chime after you restart it, but that page gives a lot of people anxiety looking at, so yeah.

 

[macwrtr]

Oh well I found a simple trick for El Capitan: Go to Users & Groups, find your account, click on your account, then click on the button that says Open Parental Controls and then in the parental controls page it takes you to click on the gear, click on copy restrictions, then click paste restrictions and it will let you edit restrictions in a glitched menu.

For High Sierra: Go straight to Parental Controls, click on the lock, and as the administrator name put: root. for the password, don't select it and put your cursor over it and press enter until it works.
To reset your password (you need to be logged in to your account): got to Users & Groups, click on your account, then click on Change Password.

It's as simple as that. Or you can use the other methods of hold Command+S on the bootup chime after you restart it, but that page gives a lot of people anxiety looking at, so yeah.

Hi, I'm running High Sierra 10.13.6. Tried the suggestion above about pressing enter till it works, but it never worked. Other ideas?