iMac Rest Password

[guyguy17]

Last year, I had set up several new Macs. I took them out of the box and created a local admin account with a password. This is the only account on these computers. These computers are joined to AD domain.

Unfortunately, some of the computers I don't remember the password to the local admin account. I don't want to erase them because they are used by staff members.

If I go to terminal and use the "reset password" command, that doesn't help either because it asks for the local admin password in order to continue to reset it.

How do I fix it?

 

[Bigwaff]

Different steps dependent on how Mac was originally set up.

If you can't reset your Mac login password - Apple Support

If the standard steps to reset the password of your Mac user account don't succeed, try these additional steps.

support.apple.com

 

[guyguy17]

I have already looked at the article and some of it doesn't pertain to this situation. We don't use Apple ID or iCloud. Touch ID is not enabled. File Vault is disabled. I have restarted the computers and they do have a wired connection. I am able to sign in with a network account but that doesn't help it.

When I use the "reset password" command, it asks for the password to a local admin account and that is the problem. I need to reset that password.

If I "deactivate" the computer then I may not be able to sign in at all with any accounts.

 

[Bigwaff]

Did you boot into Recovery and follow the procedure in the linked support document? If so, at what point do you get stuck?

 

[guyguy17]

Yes, I booted in to Recovery mode. Where I am hesitant is using the "deactivate" option. I don't want to lose any data that is on the computer. Also, I don't want any network login passwords to be affected by the deactivation.

 

[Bigwaff]

Well, deactivate won’t erase any data but it will disable account logins until passwords are reset. Don’t know what happens with network accounts but sounds like you don’t have a choice but to try.

 

[BigBlur]

Deactivating the Mac basically means deleting the existing keychain and creating a new one. The following screen should let you reset the password for all the local accounts. You won't lose your data and shouldn't get locked out. To be extra sure, do you have a spare Mac to put on the AD domain to test this out first?

https://support.addigy.com/hc/en-us/articles/4406215343763-Fixing-Broken-Keychains-Secure-Tokens-using-Recovery-Mode

Another idea... Create a new admin account if you're able to. Then use the new admin account to reset the password for the original admin account from inside macOS.

Can't Log in to Your Mac? Create a New Admin Account

If you can’t remember your Mac's login, you can create a new administrator account by using the single user mode of your Mac.

www.lifewire.com