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charles2452000 · Jun 12, 2008, 05:45 AM

hi i just got back from a 3 month trip to montana, and i forgot my login pass. for my mac book. i looked it up and the mac website said i would need my mac osx install disk to get my pass back. i asked my parents( they were the ones who bought it for me) and they said they cant find it anywhere.... is there any way to find my pass again. i was dumb enough to lock almost everything up, and not put a reminder other than " you know" in there. can someone help me!!!???!?!?!?!

OreoCookie · Jun 12, 2008, 06:37 AM

Please use a more descriptive title.
You can get replacement install disks from Apple (which you should have in any case), they'll charge you shipping (about $20).

Arkham_c · Jun 12, 2008, 10:49 AM

You have to boot off an install disk, or else plug your Mac into another Mac in firewire disk mode and change the password that way. The easy thing to do is take the Mac into an Apple store.

osiris24x · Jun 12, 2008, 04:55 PM

Additionally, if you take your Mac into any Apple store they will confirm that it's your computer and then reset the password for you for free.

charles2452000 · Jun 15, 2008, 11:39 PM

sweet thank you all very much. i got the install disc and everything is just fine and sorry about the title. i was very worried i wouldn't ever find out

turtle777 · Jun 16, 2008, 01:07 AM

Originally Posted by osiris24x

Additionally, if you take your Mac into any Apple store they will confirm that it's your computer and then reset the password for you for free.

That should be the future standard reply to this question here.

-t

jmiddel · Jun 17, 2008, 01:15 AM

turtle, how many of us live in a place that has an Apple store? I am lucky in Albuquerque, but in Philadelphia, a multimillion person city, there is none! Just in a distant suburb. Nor is there one in upscale Santa Fe, full of Mac using artists. So no, it should not be a standard reply :{

MacosNerd · Jun 17, 2008, 06:44 AM

Originally Posted by turtle777

That should be the future standard reply to this question here.

I think its a lot easier to tell them how to do it themselves, i.e., with the install discs instead of having them lug it to an apple store, wait hours, and then hopefully have them reset it. What happens if for some reason they cannot prove their ownership and yet they are the owners. I think taking it to the apple store is the last resort.

turtle777 · Jun 17, 2008, 09:47 AM

No, the problem is that you are giving people advice that can be used to circumvent a protected laptop that might have been stolen.

Giving advice in that situation is against the MacNN rules.

Of course, we don't know what's really the case, but you got to wonder sometimes.

The advice to go to an Apple Store, or alternatively, call Apple Support, and authenticate the ownership of the MB / MBP / AB first is a good idea IMO.

-t

Cold Warrior · Jun 17, 2008, 08:10 PM

We handle this question all the time. Without some sort of suspicious context, the forum default is to answer a question about resetting an account password.

Hal Itosis · Jun 18, 2008, 12:52 AM

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

We handle this question all the time. Without some sort of suspicious context, the forum default is to answer a question about resetting an account password.

Oh idunno... a first time poster, talkin' 'bout a
3 month trip to montana without their "mac book"
... sure sounds like a lockdown situation to me.

turtle777 · Jun 18, 2008, 01:11 AM

Yeah, I agree. This has shady / weird / dumb written all over it.

-t

Cold Warrior · Jun 18, 2008, 07:34 AM

New members join all the time to ask a single question that has them in a jam. We can't shut out the forums to them without more to go on than a post count and routine questions.

I understand what you all are saying, but I'm weighing that against legitimate users' need for help. If people start coming back and saying MacNN is a great place for criminals to find assistance (the Lounge thread marking you all as criminals notwithstanding), then I'll reassess.

charles2452000 · Jul 18, 2008, 03:17 AM

i'm sorry if i did seam shady or criminal, i dont spend much time with my computer. and i surly wouldnt take my laptop to montana!!! i was hiking and backpacking the whole trip. do you think i got much computer time while in the place farthest from internet access. i dont think so. they suggested that we leave all electronics at home for fear of damage.

Rainy Day · Jul 18, 2008, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

No, the problem is that you are giving people advice that can be used to circumvent a protected laptop that might have been stolen.

The “security through obscurity” argument. Look, a high-tech criminal would surely know enough about Google to find out about resetting the password on a stolen computer, with or without Macnn. All Mac users need to assume that if their computers are stolen, a thief could gain access to their data, and protect it accordingly.