I recently purchased a, refurbished, slimmer iMac High Sierra 2012 (can't remember the version number) with the intention of using my current iMac as a spare. However, while I starting to set it up a couple of weeks later, I switched it off, and when I went to boot it up again it asked for a password. It didn't come with a p/w and I hadn't yet put one in. It's not really urgent, as we've got this lock-down thingy, but just thought some-one might have an answer as to how this could have come about.
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Locked out of my iMac. Help!
- Thread starter 0rinoco
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You have lots of possible options...
If you restored from a backup, then a login password would likely be exactly the same as the Mac your used to make that backup. (There's no need to make a new password, when a password already is in place!
If, on the other hand, you had a clean install, beginning to setup a new Mac, and you didn't get that far to set up a new password, but one is there, unbeknownst to you - then I would suggest that you boot to your recovery system, Restart, holding Command+R, then erase the system partition, and finally reinstall macOS. (Better to start out completely fresh, than be half-way there with an unknown password.
And, if you don't want to erase and start over, you can also reset the user password, by booting to the recovery system, then opening Terminal from the Utilities menu.
Type resetpassword -- press enter, find your user from the dropdown, and make a new password for your user account.
Finally, if you can't get to ANY of this --- What does the screen look like that asks for a password? Does it have a blank box with a padlock?
If you restored from a backup, then a login password would likely be exactly the same as the Mac your used to make that backup. (There's no need to make a new password, when a password already is in place!
If, on the other hand, you had a clean install, beginning to setup a new Mac, and you didn't get that far to set up a new password, but one is there, unbeknownst to you - then I would suggest that you boot to your recovery system, Restart, holding Command+R, then erase the system partition, and finally reinstall macOS. (Better to start out completely fresh, than be half-way there with an unknown password.
And, if you don't want to erase and start over, you can also reset the user password, by booting to the recovery system, then opening Terminal from the Utilities menu.
Type resetpassword -- press enter, find your user from the dropdown, and make a new password for your user account.
Finally, if you can't get to ANY of this --- What does the screen look like that asks for a password? Does it have a blank box with a padlock?
Thanks, DM. Just had a look, and the screen, although dark, is not black and seems to have a blurred image in the background. There is a drum icon with the legend iMac 2012, no padlock, and at the base of the screen is an encircled X and 'Cancel' underneath. Hope this help.
Right... What you are describing is a typical user account login screen.
I expect that the user account name (iMac 2012) is not something that you have seen before.
Probably a name that whoever installed the system (the person who "refurbished" your iMac) gave it.
You might have had some paperwork that came with the iMac, telling you what the password is supposed to be.
If you didn't get anything telling you what password was used, maybe it has no password --- which means that you should be able to just press Return, and you go to the desktop.
But, if the "refurbisher" messed that up, (and there's an unknown password) you don't need to trust the rest of the install.
Easy enough to boot to an installer, erase the drive, and install your own system, which you will know is a good install. Right now, you don't know what you have.
I recommend that you boot to an external installer, erase the internal drive completely, and reinstall the system. Easy to do that, and you can then be more confident in what is installed (because YOU did the install)
I expect that the user account name (iMac 2012) is not something that you have seen before.
Probably a name that whoever installed the system (the person who "refurbished" your iMac) gave it.
You might have had some paperwork that came with the iMac, telling you what the password is supposed to be.
If you didn't get anything telling you what password was used, maybe it has no password --- which means that you should be able to just press Return, and you go to the desktop.
But, if the "refurbisher" messed that up, (and there's an unknown password) you don't need to trust the rest of the install.
Easy enough to boot to an installer, erase the drive, and install your own system, which you will know is a good install. Right now, you don't know what you have.
I recommend that you boot to an external installer, erase the internal drive completely, and reinstall the system. Easy to do that, and you can then be more confident in what is installed (because YOU did the install)
Thanks for the prompt reply. Fortunately, I have got plenty of time (retired) so I shall make a start later and see how I get on. I first started on Windows 3.5 some twenty-odd years ago and have finally come to the conclusion that the system is rubbish. My grandson (who is a B.A. at Cambridge) advised me that it would be a wise move to try Apple. He was right. So glad I did. Anyway, I'll let you know how I get on with this problem later. Thanks again.
Well, further to my last post, I am attempting to set up the installer, but Apple won't accept my ID password (user name is apparently OK). I made up another ID with fresh details, and Apple is still telling me that the password has to be entered before it will format the USB. Anybody know what I might be doing wrong?
I am attempting to create an installer and this is what I have in Terminal, but it will not allow me to enter anything at the password stage. Has the key symbol anything to do with this? The keyboard does nothing.
Thanks. Do you mean that it won't be displayed in dots, even?
[automerge]1588472706[/automerge]
Many thanks to all. Finally got it sorted.
[automerge]1588472706[/automerge]
Many thanks to all. Finally got it sorted.
When I say you will not see any response, that's it!
Nothing is echoed as you type. no characters of any kind, no cursor movement.
That "no response" when typing a password is completely normal in the terminal window.
When it asks for your password, just type it blind, and press enter --- and done.
Nothing is echoed as you type. no characters of any kind, no cursor movement.
That "no response" when typing a password is completely normal in the terminal window.
When it asks for your password, just type it blind, and press enter --- and done.
Well, although I managed to sort out the p/word issue, I still can't install from the USB. Could somebody Kindly interpret the 'arguments' on the attached image. I've obviously done something wrong, but I can't see what. Thanks again in advance.
High Sierra does not need the applicationpath command at all.
In your terminal, delete everything after/Volumes/MyVolume
Is that (MyVolume) the actual name of your destination volume? That name needs to be what the volume name is, for the destination volume. Your command to create the volume will rename it, but you do need to make sure that the volume NOW is the same as what you have in your command, otherwise you will quickly get a "volume does not exist" or something similar. Much simpler (and no typing errors) is to just drag the volume into the terminal window, which will properly format the path to that volume.
In your terminal, delete everything after/Volumes/MyVolume
Is that (MyVolume) the actual name of your destination volume? That name needs to be what the volume name is, for the destination volume. Your command to create the volume will rename it, but you do need to make sure that the volume NOW is the same as what you have in your command, otherwise you will quickly get a "volume does not exist" or something similar. Much simpler (and no typing errors) is to just drag the volume into the terminal window, which will properly format the path to that volume.
OP:
(if you're still watching this thread)
Can you get booted to internet recovery?
That's
command-OPTION-R
... at boot time.
If you're connected via wifi, you'll need your wifi password.
You should see the spinning globe symbol, it will take a while for the utilities to load.
Can you get the iMac to "go this far"?
If you can, that's a good start.
(if you're still watching this thread)
Can you get booted to internet recovery?
That's
command-OPTION-R
... at boot time.
If you're connected via wifi, you'll need your wifi password.
You should see the spinning globe symbol, it will take a while for the utilities to load.
Can you get the iMac to "go this far"?
If you can, that's a good start.
Sorry about the delay in replying, OP, but due to other very pressing matters, I have not had too much spare time. I already have a wi-fi connection. I have not yet managed to finalise the install USB and, to be honest, I am going to start again, as I have forgotten where exactly I was. At my age, 86 coming up, I might be getting a bit old for this sort of thing. 🙂 I'll have a fresh look tomorrow, and come back again.
Finally sorted the matter out. Cloned the whole of the system on my other iMac and copied it over to the problem machine. I used Superduper for the job, and it was a pushover. Plus I now have a bootable copy of everything on SSD. And thanks to all on here who offered advice.