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Newbie using 2nd hand imac with windows keyboard

S

stylishjm

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 28, 2010
5
0
So i went and bought my first imac (2003 second hand for really cheap), which has osx 10.4.1 on it (tiger i presume) and came with no wires/keyboard/mouse.
So im using a windows keyboard and a standard usb mouse.

Anyway the damn thing has a username and password so im locked out and managed to get 4cd installation of tiger.

It doesnt seem to autoboot from cd, held down c during restart and still it boots straight to the username password menu.

Can anyone help me?
All I really want to do is just bypass the password or simply reinstall the os

By the way, I dont have access to another mac and I dont have a working 4g and below ipod

Thanks
 
Insert Disk 1 then restart the computer, and hold the C key as it starts up. This might take longer than usual, and you can release the C key as soon as the Apple logo appears on the screen. When the window appears, choose your language and click the right arrow. For Tiger (10.4), choose Reset Password from the Utilities menu.
Now enter the new password, click Save, quit the Installer and restart the computer.
 
Already tried that but it wont work, just goes onto starting osx screen! Forgot to mention that the cd's where burned from .dmg files and on my laptop the cd appears as hfs+ file system which should be fine.

Im going to format the HDD on my windows laptop and try a different method.

Are there any step by step guides to disassembling these imac's as they look quite delicate?
 
Easy way to find out if your install CD is bad: When you reboot, try holding the Option (Alt, on your Windows keyboard) key. You should get a simple menu of buttons showing the available boot drives. If you DO get that, then you know that your keyboard is being recognized correctly. If the install CD doesn't show up as one of the options on the screen, then you know it won't boot your computer.

You didn't say what specific model of iMac it is, but I'm assuming "desk lamp" style G4 based on the date. They are NOT easy to get into--I've done it, but you'll need some thermal paste to correctly re-bond the internal heat pipe to the bottom plate of the computer, which acts as a big heat sink.

Note, by the way, that if you can get any working OSX install disc, even for a minute, you can run the "password reset" utility and you won't need to reinstall the OS from scratch (though I personally would). You might try a local users group or Mac-using friend to see if someone will loan you their install discs for a bit.
 
Is there anyway to bypass or reset the password without another mac or install dvd?
 
Makosuke said:
Easy way to find out if your install CD is bad: When you reboot, try holding the Option (Alt, on your Windows keyboard) key. You should get a simple menu of buttons showing the available boot drives. If you DO get that, then you know that your keyboard is being recognized correctly. If the install CD doesn't show up as one of the options on the screen, then you know it won't boot your computer.

You didn't say what specific model of iMac it is, but I'm assuming "desk lamp" style G4 based on the date. They are NOT easy to get into--I've done it, but you'll need some thermal paste to correctly re-bond the internal heat pipe to the bottom plate of the computer, which acts as a big heat sink.

Note, by the way, that if you can get any working OSX install disc, even for a minute, you can run the "password reset" utility and you won't need to reinstall the OS from scratch (though I personally would). You might try a local users group or Mac-using friend to see if someone will loan you their install discs for a bit.
Click to expand...

For some reason I didnt see this post last night. Anyway yes, it is the desk-lamp style one. I havent actually started up with ALT pressed down yet so will definitely try one. Funnily enough I ordered some thermal paste the other day but hopefully opening up the imac will be a last resort.

Thanks for your replies
Thanks
 
How do I find which version imac im using?At the bottom are a few 2003 dates
 
stylishjm said:
How do I find which version imac im using?At the bottom are a few 2003 dates
Click to expand...
This article tells you how to tell the difference: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2643
(I forget where the actual model number on those is printed--it's either on the base or inside the optical disc door.)

Everymac can also be handy, if you know the specs, and they give you more details about what your particular model does and doesn't have:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/index-imac.html

Another note: If you have a computer with a Firewire port on it, there's no need to open the iMac to get direct access to the hard drive. By turning on the Mac with the T key held down, you'll put it into Target Disk Mode, which will have it act exactly like an external firewire hard drive. By connecting to a second computer that way you can wipe the internal drive, mess with its contents, etc, without needing to access the OS at all.
 
More importantly, I remembered that there IS a way to reset a password (or just create a new admin account and delete the old one) without booting into the install discs. Here's a page that describes it:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20001217230925152

Basically boot into single user mode, enable the root user and give it a password with the command "passwd root", reboot and log in as root, then use the system preference pane to create a new admin user or reset the password on the old one (if you do that, you'll need to reset that user's keychain, since its password can't be changed without knowing the old one, but frankly I'd recommend just creating a new admin and deleting the old account).

There are also alternate suggestions in the comments on that article, including one involving mounting the drive on a PC.

If you have any trouble following those instructions, post here and I or someone else can help.
 
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