Key for Single User mode

[Muskie]

Good morning (depending on where you are).

At my school us art students get Mac laptops to use for our classes. The school updates them every two years. My first two years there I had a 12" Powerbook G4. This year they upgraded me to a 15" MBP. Hooray.

However, since getting this new computer, I have not been able to log in to single user mode. When I boot up in su, it just prompts me with a "Key:" Which I'm guessing means someone password protected it. I've tried all my passwords, "admin", "student", "root", etc. and nothing works. I've been searching around, and all I can find is how to set up the password, not how to get around it. All I want to do is be able to run fsck, especially now, since a few things have begun to go strangely awry. I never had this problem with my PB from school, so that's part of the reason I'm confused. This isn't something new to the MBPs right? Some wonderful human being in the tech department just decided to throw a password on the machine I'm paying ~$800 a semester to use.

Can someone help?

Thanks

 

[edesignuk]

I have no idea what this key is, but, have you considered just asking your schools IT about it?

 

[Muskie]

I have no idea what this key is, but, have you considered just asking your schools IT about it?

I have considered it, but I'm wary. The student-employed tech devision at our school is um, well, lacking. Especially when it comes to Macs. I'm sure I know more about our computers than most of the kids that work there. Another reason is that I'm reluctant to give them any reason to seize my MBP. They have a habit of collecting 15+ Macs before they send them all on to their ONE Mac repair man, thus many of my friends have been stuck with loaners for months (not exaggerating). Granted I can just say NO DONT TAKE IT (i hope?). And finally, I don't think they would be able to help me anyway, because I think a su level change like that would be done by the company (Vanguard I think) that leases these laptops to the school.

If in the next few days I do not get some things cleared up on my own I do believe I will be calling them though. ::sigh:: Thanks though, it's not a bad suggestion lol








after booting to single user mode once again, i figured i would give it one more last shot, i solved my problem. so i spent 10 minutes typing everything i could think of someone possibly using for a password, the regulars, admin, user, student, etc. and anything else that came to mind, including some profanities... then i just started typing single characters. it turned out to be a " / " so someone though it would be a great idea to lock me out of my own machine with one character.... why? ah well, i beat them!

thanks anyway.