MAC Single User Mode
[image: How to Break Into a Mac (And Prevent It from Happening to You)]
Boot up the computer, holding Command+S as you hear the startup chime. The
Mac will boot into single user mode, giving you a command prompt after
loading everything up. If the Mac is running Snow Leopard or below, type
the following commands, hitting Enter after each one and waiting for the
prompt to come up again before running the next one:
/sbin/fsck -fy
/sbin/mount -uw /
launchctl load
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist
dscl . -passwd /Users/obnosis badkitty
If the Mac is running Lion or above, you'll instead want to use the
following commands:
/sbin/fsck -fy
/sbin/mount -uw /
launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.opendirectoryd.plist
dscl . -passwd /Users/obnosis badkitty
Replace obnosis with the user whose account you want to access and
badkitty with
the new password you want to assign to that user. If you get an error
message aboutcom.apple.DirectoryServicesLocal.plist on a Lion or Mountain
Lion machine, just ignore it—the password reset should have still worked.
If you don't know the user's username, it should be pretty easy to run ls
/Users at any time during single user mode to list all the home folders on
the Mac, which usually correspond to the usernames available on the Mac.
Note that the user's password is different than the root password. If you
want access to the more secured parts of their machine—like their password
keychain—you can change their root password by running this command after
loading opendirectoryd.plist:
passwd root
Once finished, you should have access to most of their system, including
their saved passwords for other apps.
On Thu, Dec 6, 2012 at 8:04 PM, Brian Cluff <
brian@snaptek.com> wrote:
> We received the following request though our website. If there is anyone
> that can help it sounds like a worthy cause.
>
> ------------
>
> Bernard Cohen <berjen@accesscomm.ca>
>
> I'm a member and board member of the Linux users group in Regina,
> Saskatchewan , Canada
>
> http://www.losurs.org/
>
> I'm writing concerning my sister who lives in Phoenix. Her husband
> recently died unexpectedly.
> Among her many crises is the fact that she is locked
> out of her husbands account on his 4 or 5 year old
> Mac computer. Her computer skills are pretty rudimentary. She doesn't
> know any of their usernames and passwords. She lives in the Cave Creek area
> of Phoenix just south and east of the Sonoran Desert Preserve. If there are
> any members of your group that might be willing to give her a
> hand please let me know their name(s) and phone number(s) &/or email
> addresses and I will pass them on to her.
> Thank you.
> ------------------------------**---------------------
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