You must type an administrators name and password to

[groovdudeyo]

open the installer? or something like this well I typed the administrator name and my password and it just keeps saying you need to type an administrators name and password to open the installer right before it says you have tried to authenticate too many times.

 

[r.j.s]

What are you trying to install?

 

[groovdudeyo]

just itunes and then i wanna do a whole bunch of updates since I just got my new disk of leopard to work after three days. I first ran into this when I tried to change the time zone. Can I abolish all passwords on the install leopard screen thing?

 

[r.j.s]

Are you an administrator?

 

[groovdudeyo]

yeah and I only know of one administrator name and password that I have but it still keeps telling me that its wrong

 

[r.j.s]

Check System Preferences > Accounts

 

[groovdudeyo]

yes it says "Mike Vail" and then standard right above guest account thingy im not sure who this mike vail is the name came with the computer.

 

[r.j.s]

A Standard account is not an admin.

 

[groovdudeyo]

alright thats what I was thinking how do I fix this?

 

[r.j.s]

alright thats what I was thinking how do I fix this?

There are no accounts listed as administrators?

 

[groovdudeyo]

none I do have two hard drives though would the only administrator be on the first drive?

 

[r.j.s]

none I do have two hard drives though would the only administrator be on the first drive?

No. It should be listed there.

Do this: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1278

 

[alphaod]

The steps r.j.s specified should work. Just make sure you disable root at the end; if you don't, it could be a major security risk.

 

[groovdudeyo]

The steps r.j.s specified should work. Just make sure you disable root at the end; if you don't, it could be a major security risk.

what do you mean like someone knowing my password or something? Or like a virus?

 

[r.j.s]

what do you mean like someone knowing my password or something? Or like a virus?

root has absolute access to everything on the computer, without question, so by leaving root enabled, there is potential for a malicious program or person to use root to do anything.

 

[groovdudeyo]

so I followed the instructions that you put in your link and I cant seem to find this other that theyre talking about when they say to log off and select other there is no other also I think that just enabling this root would fix all my problems because im not really afraid of someone doing malicious things to my computer or anything. So what should I do about the other and how do I enable root?

 

[r.j.s]

Log off ... Then when it asks you to login, instead of choosing your account - click Other ...

DO NOT LEAVE root ENABLED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!

 

[groovdudeyo]

Ok if roots off I have no idea how to log on I know both of the account names and all do I have to type them in as the whole thing meaning "...(...)" the first part and then the part in parentheses? it wont be connected to the internet i dont think so would it be safe to leave it on then?

 

[RedTomato]

yes it says "Mike Vail" and then standard right above guest account thingy im not sure who this mike vail is the name came with the computer.

So you 'bought' this computer, or were 'given' it and the person 'selling' it to you 'forgot' to give you the admin password.

I suggest you go back to him and ask him for the password. But apparently his name isn't Mike Vail either, so he won't know. Sorry, this is looking more and more dodgy. You might want to think about calling the police.

As you say you have two hard drives, is this a MacPro or a hackintosh? (or a laptop with Boot Camp)

 

[windywoo]

Why is it dodgey? If you buy something off ebay you won't know the user's name, and quite likely they won't give you the admin password either.

 

[ihabime]

I checked your posting history and I assume this is the powermac G4 you got second hand, it came with Tiger and you installed Leopard on a second disk.

When you installed Leopard did you have it transfer the user settings from the other HD?
Because that seems to be the problem, you're still using the settings from whoever had your computer before and you're stuck with them as your administrator.

When you get a second hand computer it's best to clean it off entirely, get rid of the last users accounts and other crap.

It's probably best if you do a full reinstall of leopard without transferring any user settings, this will allow you to set yourself as administrator and start from a clean slate. Backup any documents, email, etc that you might want to keep beforehand.