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mercuryc78
User

Posts: 24

can't reset admin password HELP! - 2009/01/04 19:33 Hi all,
I have saved a lot of imacs from the dump ~ their previous owner couldn't unlock the hard drives, since he didn't have the password so he was going to throw them away. I have looked and looked for a "back door" in and I have tried all the variations of the single user mode with no luck. I have also heard of people copying an unlocked hard drive to the locked one via Firewire, but only one of five have this port. I am still a "newbie" so I am calling on my fellow mac lovers to shed some light on my situation.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR IMPUT!

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Cacicedo
User

Posts: 374

Re:can't reset admin password HELP! - 2009/01/06 16:34 Easy enough to do if you have an OS install disk--just go to the file menu as soon as you can and choose the set password option.

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krowmagnum
User

Posts: 948

Re:can't reset admin password HELP! - 2009/01/07 00:31 As Cacicedo mentioned you'll need an OS X install disk to reset the OS X password, unless it's a firnware or 3rd party software password which can be more complicated.

Using Firewire to copy data from one mac to another is called Target Disk Mode. That basically makes one Mac (target Mac) an external drive and data can be copied to/from it or an OS can be installed or cloned from the host Mac.

For Macs OS 9 or earlier you can drag and drop (or copy/paste) the OS and all files from one Mac to another. Any version of OS X will require software to "clone" the drive's contents to get all the hidden files needed. Carbon Copy Cloner is a good donationware app for cloning.

TDM:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

Carbon Copy Cloner:

http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

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mercuryc78
User

Posts: 24

Re:can't reset admin password HELP! - 2009/01/18 07:41 Thanks guys =) I got ahold of some OS disks and rebooted from there =)

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