Resetting a Mac password trouble

[TechGuy4242]

Hi there





I'm trying to recover the password/reset the password on my dad's Mac as he unfortunately forgot it.





Using his Apple ID isn't working ( even though I just reset the password) it just shakes when you try to enter it as if it's incorrect but I can sign in on my phone fine.





I tried using recovery mode but when I tried to use the utility and Terminal to enter resetpassword BUT for some reason it wouldn't allow me to type in the terminal window I have no clue why any theories would be appreciated)





File vault isn't appearing as an option either,





I have seen I could use the command S method and type in





mount -uw /


rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone


shutdown -h now





To create another account and then change the password of the old account as shown here:

How to Reset Forgotten macOS Sierra Password? - wikigain

In this article, I'm going to show you that How to Reset Forgotten macOS Sierra Password. Reset forgot macOS Sierra 10.12 Password. Reset macOS admin.

www.wikigain.com

But i'm reluctant because I'm afraid of something going wrong and him losing his data. As a few people in the comments said this happened in the comments( they could be trolling though ) Also the fact that no other method has worked has me uneasy.





I do have a few questions though:





Is








mount -uw /





rm /var/db/.applesetupdone





shutdown -h now





The correct syntax ?





Why is there " rm " my understanding is " rm " means remove wouldn't removing the db cause issues with the system?





What does -h mean?





Will any data be lost ?



The methods I am use to are:





mount -uw /


passwd username





And





mount -uw /





launchctl load /System/LibraryLaunchDaemons/com.apple.opendirectoryd.plist





passwd username








Will this work with the Sierra OS?





Thanks for your time, help and any assistance you can provide.

 

[hobowankenobi]

Howdy. Have not done this in a few years....but it used to work perfectly, and was safe.

As for the remove command....yes, one has to be careful with it. In this case, it is safe.

All you are removing is essentially a preference; that "setupdone" file is what prevents the setup assist from being triggered on every boot. The file is set once the setup assistant is complete. Without the file in place, just like on a new Mac, the setup wizard is triggered on boot.

This will allow you to create a new admin account.

It won't delete or change anything else. All other accounts, applications, data, etc. will be unchanged.

Once you have the new admin account, you can log in and easily reset the existing account.

 

[TechGuy4242]

Howdy. Have not done this in a few years....but it used to work perfectly, and was safe.

As for the remove command....yes, one has to be careful with it. In this case, it is safe.

All you are removing is essentially a preference; that "setupdone" file is what prevents the setup assist from being triggered on every boot. The file is set once the setup assistant is complete. Without the file in place, just like on a new Mac, the setup wizard is triggered on boot.

This will allow you to create a new admin account.

It won't delete or change anything else. All other accounts, applications, data, etc. will be unchanged.

Once you have the new admin account, you can log in and easily reset the existing account.

Hi there,

How are you ?

I appreciate the response and the reassurance.

My main concern is if filevault is turned on since it locks the drive until login.
Will Mount -uw override it or will it simply not work?

Cheers

 

[hobowankenobi]

Hi there,

How are you ?

I appreciate the response and the reassurance.

My main concern is if filevault is turned on since it locks the drive until login.
Will Mount -uw override it or will it simply not work?

Cheers

Sorry, missed that part.

Never tried it with File Vault enabled. I would suspect it will not work, and you will need to know the PW of the account to unlock.

I doubt it would hurt anything to try, but I think that without the File Vault PW or the key...there is no way to retrieve existing data. Hopefully somebody here knows different.

 

[Weaselboy]

but I think that without the File Vault PW or the key...there is no way to retrieve existing data.

Yeah... none of the traditional PW reset methods discussed by OP here will work with FV turned on.

OP > If you don't have a recovery key or iCloud PW recovery setup with FV, you are pretty much sunk.