HELP!!!!! PLEASE!!!!! I cannot sign onto my Mac OS X macbook pro.?

Question

I tried to fix issues with the start up disc and when I restarted the wrong names are on the sign in screen, the master password is still our prompt but hat won;t work either anyone know how I can get onto the macbook it has all my uni work plus 1000s of photos!!!! I'm desperate!!!!

Answer 1

Well, first of all, you can access all your uni work and photos with a Linux live CD:

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntucat/recovering-windows-files-with-a-ubuntu-cd-ii-getting-your-files/



I know the instructions say they're for Windows, but it's the same thing for Macbook Pros now that they're Intel-based. Instead of going to C:\Documents and Settings\username, you would go to /Users/username to get your files.



Okay, now that that's settled, you can also reset the password and find out the usernames if you boot into single-user mode. This will give you instructions for booting into single-user mode and resetting the password:

http://ctrlzone.blogspot.com/2008/03/handy-way-to-reset-mac-password.html



The extra command to find out the usernames is



ls /Users



That first letter is a lowercase L, not a 1 or a capital i. And capitalization is important, so that's /Users, not /users

Answer 2

There is some hope in following the steps outlined in the blog article but I find it a bit tedious and round-about, since logging into a root account isn't really necessary. Also,



If the user names are not what you expect, someone must have changed them. I notice you use the plural "our prompt". That must mean there are others who use this computer. Have you asked the owner of the computer what happened?



Here's my best suggestion if the owner cannot help you. Changing the home folder names for the accounts has probably gotten things all messed up. There are lots of long, drawn out ways of resolving this but I would suggest you start by creating a new, unblemished account. After that, you might be able to "delete" the old accounts. That will make them become owned by the new account. All of their files will be put into individual disk images that you can mount and copy files out of. Even this may not work if the netinfo database is corrupt but it is worth a try as a first step.



Restart and hold two keys together: Command key (⌘) and the "S" key. That starts the Mac in "Single-user mode". You'll know you are seeing single-user mode because the screen will fill up with white geeky text on a black background. Release the two keys when you see this. Wait until the last line says "sh-2.05a#" or something similar. Then go ahead with the steps below. Don't type the " marks and be careful to type the spaces in "/sbin/mount -uw /". Also, unless you have reformatted the hard drive to the non-standard "Mac OS Extended (case-sensitive, journaled)" file system, it doesn't matter about upper case letters.



Type "/sbin/mount -uw /"

Press Return. (Nothing appears to happens, no problem. Also, you will see # again. That's fine; ignore it.)

Type "rm /var/db/.applesetupdone" (The normal format of Mac OS doesn't care about upper case.)

Press Return.

Type "reboot"

Press Return. (Now stuff appears to happen. You will finally get past the "Welcome" in a dozen languages and then you can create a new admin user. It should be a different short name from your old user. A few screens later, you come to the registration. Just choose "later". It doesn't come back later to nag.



After you have completed the new user, open System Preferences > Accounts and delete the old user. It will put all old user's data into a disk image and put that into a "Deleted Users" folder. Double-click on a disk image to mount it.



If you have reason to believe the netinfo database is corrupt, go to the link below and find the section "III. Restoring from defaults". Follow the steps to delete the netinfo databse and the .applesetupdone file. After you restart, you'll be at the "Welcome" setup screen where you can create a fresh account.

Answer 3

it is already put in. There could be no reason to re-installation it until something's completely incorrect. Your MBP could already be pre-put in with Snow Leopard, it is greater moderen, greater desirable, and swifter than Leopard. And your pc could have contain Snow Leopard Disks, no longer Leopard (which has no longer contain Macs on the grounds that 2008). If it did in reality contain Leopard disks and not Snow Leopard disks, call customer provider or take it back.

Answer 4

Are you having troubles with a password? Do you want to remove it?