Resetting a MAc admin user

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Hi guys,

so I have a mac, with a standard user on it, and I want to create another admin user, and I cant remember the admin user,originally created on it,

I found this on the net, and I managed to do it once, and deleted "something" that allowed me to create another admin user,
(windows is so much simpler a child could do it)

this is what I used,

1. Hold ⌘+S on startup (command key +s, a linux prompt will appear and start scrolling rapidly)
2. Wait for all scrolling to stop, press enter to get a root bash prompt
3. Type in Exactly this: mount -uw /
4. rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
5. reboot
6. Go through the steps of creating a new account. You can leave all fields in the personal information step blank.
7. After logging in to the new account, go to the Users & Groups preference pane
8. Select the old account, press the Reset Password... button, and enter a new password
Result will be a NEW User set as Admin, and all controls can then be unlocked successfully, and a new admin user can be created successfully for user that is set to standard if one has forgotten admin user password,

problem is I did this on a macbook, and not on a mac desktop, and now it doesn't work right,

is there another way of doing this? or am I using the wrong commands to go about doing this?

 

[GreGorGy]

OS version?

On older OS versions, you could boot from restore media (the CDs, an OS usb) and reset the admin password.

Newer OS most likely requires a reset from the AppleID of the owner (if he is a guy like me).

Also, some okes now encrypt their drives so I doubt the above would work.

 

[snorbaard]

I found this on the net, and I managed to do it once, and deleted "something" that allowed me to create another admin user,
(windows is so much simpler a child could do it)

Nice. Negging the software you need help on by saying a child could do it on another piece of software. Changing an admin password on macOS is about 4-6 clicks away. Windows is probably similar. Resetting a lost admin password? It takes a little more work on both.

Assuming you have macOS High Sierra or recent, it's built into the Recovery console.

* Turn off Mac.
* Turn on Mac and Press ⌘+R for Recovery Console.
* Got to Utilities → Terminal in menu bar.
* Type resetpassword

I would call that so simple any kid could do it.


The other way you listed should also work, but you don't say what went wrong ("it doesn't work right" is pretty much the most unhelpful way to ask for help you get) and something tells me you're not familiar with the command line, so I can't help until you until I get more info. For example, you'd need to check if you actually deleted the file (it is hidden, for example, and the case of the filename matters.

Happy to help if you're still stuck