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Reinstalled Snow Leopard and am now Locked Out

A

andyleonard

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 12, 2010
13
0
MBP 2006 2.0 with SL 10.6 started acting goofy over the weekend, so I C booted SL install disc and reinstalled. Machine now runs fine and all my stuff is still here, but I am no longer an Administrator and can't get it to boot from C drive or let me into Restart/SL, as I'm not an administrator. So I can't use the disc drive or change anything.

I'm the original/only owner and have never entered an Administrator password anywhere, just my login as a user.

Is there a way to get it to allow the disc in so I can clear up the passwords?

Sorry if this has been done...I couldn't find it.
 
You sound like a Windows user ;) Mac's don't have C drives... that's MS-DOS :)

During the installation you should have somewhere entered your administrator (root) password. If you can't remember it, there's no way to fix it other than re-install... So I'd suggest to keep retrying and try to remember the password your entered, otherwise you're bound to to a reinstall....

An easy / quick way to test the root password. Go into terminal and issue the following command:

sudo say I\'m so happy that I finally found the password
Click to expand...

you'll know it when you find it ;)
 
There's no way that reinstalling the OS would remove you as the administrator. I've been using Macs for the last 14 years and that's never happened. Something sounds screwy here. You should be able to shove the SL DVD into the optical drive no matter which user account you are on unless you're booted into Safe Mode. From that point shut it down and press the power button and hold down the Option key so you can select the boot disc. You may have to do a reformat but try reinstalling once more first. But honestly you sound like a Windows user doing a no no on someone's computer. There's no C drive on a Mac.
 
Gentelmen, I appreciate your concern about having a Commie Windows Weenie on board. I have been running nothing but Mac laptops since they came out with the Duo, whenever that was.

C boot simply meant I held the C key down and rebooted from the disc....which I clearly stated is now NOT working after I did it not less than 10 times over the weekend trying to get the damned barcode off my cursor.

I'm glad there's no way I could have been removed as Administrator. So what's my password?

I'd be happy to reinstall, but I can't access the install disc, either from the drive or from Restart off the screen? Can't get into Time Machine backup either.
 
andyleonard said:
Gentelmen, I appreciate your concern about having a Commie Windows Weenie on board. I have been running nothing but Mac laptops since they came out with the Duo, whenever that was.

C boot simply meant I held the C key down and rebooted from the disc....which I clearly stated is now NOT working after I did it not less than 10 times over the weekend trying to get the damned barcode off my cursor.

I'm glad there's no way I could have been removed as Administrator. So what's my password?

I'd be happy to reinstall, but I can't access the install disc, either from the drive or from Restart off the screen? Can't get into Time Machine backup either.
Click to expand...

Well, take a look at your OP, you said, "C Drive", you never said you booted from holding down the C key. Anyone using Macs for a long time as you have would never have said C Drive. Back to the situation. At this point I can't understand why you can't access the optical drive so you will need to make an appointment and take your Mac to the Apple store and let them look at it what happened to your optical drive.
 
Did you try booting with the Option key held down, as HLdan suggested? You should get a grey screen with your bootable volumes listed.
 
HLdan....how old are you?

Nermal, I think I have tried all the obvious stuff. Booting with Option down does not show the expected choice of drives...I get a picture of a padlock about an inch high and a white box that looks like you should type something in it, but it's unwriteable. Fans take off like crazy too. Tried all that stuff 10 times today.

I appreciate the suggestions of taking it to the store, etc. I thought of that by myself, actually, but was hoping for some expertise here.

To repeat, I CANNOT access optical drive by C button or on-screen Restart or by external drive BECAUSE I DO NOT HAVE ADMINISTRATOR PRIVILEGES and CANNOT BOOT WITH ORIGINAL DISC, because I can't get it to read.

I appreciate the links and tips on how to reboot with the disc and change the password, but I'm locked out as Administrator. That won't work.

Is there a Root path to reset Administrator password?
 
andyleonard said:
Nermal, I think I have tried all the obvious stuff. Booting with Option down does not show the expected choice of drives...I get a picture of a padlock about an inch high and a white box that looks like you should type something in it, but it's unwriteable. Fans take off like crazy too. Tried all that stuff 10 times today.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a firmware password, which is different from an admin account password. Have you done this at any point in the past?
 
Nermal,
That surely looks like what I'm working with here. Good call.

No, I have done nothing that didn't involve the C button and the install disc.

I am an extremely lightweight user and have no interest in or ability to deal with that kind of security or file handling. I did have some form of nonsense going on with the operating system over the weekend that was making a lot of heat and randomly freezing whatever I was doing by putting a small barcode about an inch tall over my cursor. I would than reboot from Snow Leopard disc, "repair disc" and press on. At one point the machine cleared it's throat, stopped getting hot and freezing and runs fine....but is now doing this. I have never entered ANY passwords into it other than the one I use to log in when I turn it on.

Any suggestions?
 
Warning: The Open Firmware Password can be reset and changed by any one of the following (except MacBook Air):

1. By any administrator user, as designated in the Accounts preferences (or in Server Admin).
2. Via physical access to the inside of the computer.
3. When the computer is started up in Mac OS 9.

So if I can't get in as Administrator (no password) and I don't have OS 9 on the machine (and can't get it to accept a disc)....what do you suppose I might do "inside the machine" to get some joy. I have changed fans and hard drives in here before, so....
 
andyleonard said:
Warning: The Open Firmware Password can be reset and changed by any one of the following (except MacBook Air):

1. By any administrator user, as designated in the Accounts preferences (or in Server Admin).
2. Via physical access to the inside of the computer.
3. When the computer is started up in Mac OS 9.

So if I can't get in as Administrator (no password) and I don't have OS 9 on the machine (and can't get it to accept a disc)....what do you suppose I might do "inside the machine" to get some joy. I have changed fans and hard drives in here before, so....
Click to expand...


After removing / adding more RAM than before, Turn on the computer and immediately reset PRAM by holding the Command-Option-P-R key combination. Press the keys until you've heard two successive startup sounds.
Open Firmware password protection should be now disabled. Shut down the computer and return it to its original RAM configuration.
 
andyleonard said:
HLdan....how old are you?
Click to expand...

I offered help to you and now all you do is make rude remarks towards me? Well at this point, my computer and passwords are working just fine and that's all that counts. I'm outta here. Typical newbies to create enemies when they first register. :rolleyes:
 
Playgear, thanks for the tip. I tried the below, but no tones on reset and screen stays black. Tried twice.



Get around a Mac Firmware Password

This is a hardware based hack, proceed with caution!

1) Shut down your computer

2) Remove the battery

3) Remove the three philips head screws that are on the L-bracket

4) Remove the L-bracket

5) Slide one of the levers (it doesnt matter which one) to the left. This will release the RAM

6) Gently wiggle the RAM card out and put it aside, you will put it back later(do NOT touch the gold bars on the front; you could break it)

7) Replace the L-bracket and put the battery back in

8 ) Boot up the computer while holding COMMAND+OPTION+P+R (this resets the parameter ram)

9) Wait for the startup chime to sound 3 times

10) Release the keys and shutdown the machine once you reach the login screen

11) Remove Battery and L-Bracket, replace the RAM module and slide the lever back while pushing it in until it does not wiggle anymore

12) Replace The battery and L-Bracket

13) Now if you boot up the machine you should bypass the Mac firmware password.
 
Hi,

I remember having to reset the Open Firmware Password on a PPC iBook. It was ... finicky. I had to change the RAM to a different size module (256 to a 512) and did the re-boot / key hold voodoo several times before it would take.

How much RAM is in the machine and how much was in it when you took out a module? I wonder if both slots have to be occupied with RAM for the reset to take.

Headache.

s.
 
O.K. I'm in.

I bought a second stick of RAM, installed it, then removed it, let the machine bong 3 times with a PRAM reset, rebooted from disc and changed Firmware Password. So far so good. It lets me reset the password for the Administrator, BUT IT WON'T TELL ME WHO THE ADMINISTRATOR IS, so I still can't unlock any of the preferences.

Any idea how to tell who it thinks the administrator is?

Many thanks for the help.
 
Last post.

Default Administrator upon reboot - starting with Leopard - is "root".
So when you are asked for "Administrator," type "root" and put in the password you installed on the disc password utility.

See, that wasn't so hard.......
 
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