Resetting a password without an additional account
Use these steps to reset a password when there is only one administrator account on the computer, or if the original administrator account needs a password reset.
"Original" administrator account refers to the one that was created immediately after installing Mac OS X. If the original administrator password is known, that administrator account may be used to reset the passwords of other administrator accounts using the steps described above. These steps require an optical drive; if your Mac does not have an optical drive and you have a Mac OS X v10.6 Install disc, see below.
After following these steps, you need to update your keychain so that it recognizes the new password.
Mac OS X v10.5 or v10.4: Choose Reset Password from the Utilities menu.
Mac OS X v10.3: Choose Reset Password from the Installer menu.
Tip: If you don't see this menu or menu choice, you're probably not started from the disc yet.
Note: The default keyboard layout is U.S. English while started from the installation disc. If you use a keyboard layout other than U.S English, use the Input menu (the flag icon on the right side of the menu bar) to select the desired layout before typing a new password.
Important: Do not select "System Administrator (root)". This is actually the root user. You should not confuse it with a normal administrator account.
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If your computer doesn't have an optical drive, connect it to a computer that does using Target Disk Mode, or use the Remote Install Mac OS X utility to start up the computer remotely.
Resetting a user's password in Mac OS X v10.5 or earlier
If you are using an earlier version of OS X, select your version number below for password reset instructions. Avoid setting a blank password for a user account when using these steps.
Mac OS X v10.3 through 10.5.8
Mac OS X v10.2 through v10.2.8
Use Accounts preferences to reset an account password.
Regardless of how many characters are actually in a Mac OS X v10.2 password, seven bullet characters (•••••••) will appear in the New Password and Verify fields the next time the password is edited.
Mac OS X v10.1.5 or earlier
Use the Users preference pane to reset a the password.
Important: Passwords for administrator accounts should not be blank.
Regardless of how many characters are actually in the password, thirteen bullet characters (•••••••••••••) will appear in the Password and Verify fields the next time the password is edited.
You need to restart with original media disk and then you can choose reset password from the apple menu bar.
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Cain and Abel is a password recovery tool that enables network administrators to test network security, or home users to recover a variety of stored network passwords. The program reports sniffing and recovery of most popular protocols, including FTP, SMTP, POP3, HTTP, mySQL, ICQ, Telnet and others.
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Cain and Abel is intended for network administrators or advanced users.
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Hope this helps you
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