Upon reboot, you will be presented with the traditional “Welcome Wizard” startup screen just like when you first get a Mac.In this step we just create a new user account as if you just got a new Mac: You aren’t finished, but the hard part is now over – no more command lines, you’ll now be in the familiar Mac OS X GUI to finish the password reset process. Stage 2) Create a New User Account upon System Boot After removing the applesetupdone file, you need to reboot, type ‘reboot’ and hit enter.Now, type the following command exactly, followed by the enter key:.Next, you must mount the root drive as writeable so that changes will save:.You’ll need to check the filesystem first:.Restart the Mac holding down the Command+S keys, this will take you into Single User Mode and it’s Terminal interface.Stage 1) Boot into Single User Mode and remove a setup file The steps may seem a little intimidating at first but I assure you it’s easy if you follow them exactly, here is exactly how to do this in three stages: This is basically the be-all-end-all approach if nothing else works, because it’s guaranteed to get you back into a Mac when the other options are available, and it works in literally all versions of OS X.

Using a pretty nifty trick you can reset a forgotten Mac password without a Mac OS X installer CD/DVD or any kind of boot drive or recovery partiton, and without having an Apple ID. Reset Mac Password – without a CD or Boot Drive But what if you don’t have an Apple ID attached to the Mac account? Or what if you don’t remember that password either, or if there’s no internet access? If you find yourself in a situation where the Apple ID approach is not possible, don’t worry, because that’s what we’ll cover next. That was easy, right? Indeed, the Apple ID password option is the fastest and simplest method available to Mac users, and when that option is available it’s the preferential method.

Confirm the new password and let the Mac boot as usual.

Enter the Apple ID credentials, this is the same information used to log into the App Store, iTunes, and iCloud, then click “Reset Password”.

From the Mac login or boot screen, enter any wrong password three times to summon the “Password Hint” box and a message saying “If you forgot your password you can reset it using your Apple ID”… click on that (>) arrow icon to start the Apple ID based reset.The only requirements are that you must have tied an Apple ID to a user account, and you must have internet access so that the Mac can contact Apple to initiate the reset procedure. This is the best approach for Mac users running new versions of OS X (Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, and Lion) because it’s extremely fast and simple. Resetting Lost Mac Passwords with Apple ID

Apple imac password reset