how to reset the administrator password on mac

You can make Setup Assistant run in (at least) three ways:Ī) use Terminal in Recovery. If you need to retain access to the original account without knowing its password, this may mess that up. Note that this may result in the new account being logging in automatically when the system is restarted, replacing whatever account may have been set to automatically log in previously. If the file is missing macOS will launch the Setup Assistant which includes the creation of a new account with administrative privileges (same as on first boot of a new Mac). The goal is to remove a flag file /var/db/.AppleSetupDone which tells macOS that the Setup Assistant has already completed. The administrator account does not exist and/or we want to create a new admin with the Setup Assistant.Resetting the password does NOT change the password of the account's keychain file, so accessing data in the keychain still requires the original password. This will launch the Reset Password app with which you can select an account and set a new password for it, thus enabling login for it. The administrator account exists, but the password is forgotten:īoot into Recovery Partition, choose Terminal from the Utilities menu and type following: resetpassword.There are several ways to regain/recreate administrator privileges on a Mac. Remove the Apple Setup Done file by typingĬomplete the setup process, creating a new admin account. Mount the drive as read-write by typing /sbin/mount -uw / then ↩ enter.

(If you end up back on the login screen after a flash of the black screen with white lettering, enter your password and it will return to the black screen.)Ĭheck and repair the drive by typing /sbin/fsck -fy then ↩ enter - as directed by the on-screen text. As soon as you hear the startup tone, press and hold ⌘ + S until you see a black screen with white lettering. You can create a new administrator account by restarting the Setup Assistant:īoot into Single User Mode: Start/restart your Mac.

How to reset the administrator password on mac