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lost password on apple computer

Georgeidp
Georgeidp asked
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how to get password on apple when user forgot it?  cannot get past home logon screen.
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Georgeidp

Author

Commented:
all i get is the logon screen with a picture of the user.  I looked at that link.

thanks
Paul SauvéRetired

Commented:
click on the picture of the user and select Account

on this page, select:
Account Settings ―> Login and password

you should now see tour logon name, if so click on Forgotten your Apple ID or password? and follow instructions.
Georgeidp

Author

Commented:
this does not work.   all we  have is the apple logon screen with space for password below picture.  i think their is only one user on this machine.
Paul SauvéRetired

Commented:
i thought you meant your Apple passcode! are u saying that the user is locked out of his device? if so, you have to
Remove your passcode
If you backed up your device, you can restore your data and settings after restoring your device. If you never backed up your device before you forgot your passcode, you won't be able to save the data on your device.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204306
Commented:
If you want to reset the Apple Computer password, you'll need to boot into recovery mode by holding command r while you start your computer.  Once started in recovery mode select open terminal to open the command line Terminal.app and type "resetpassword".  You will be prompted to reset the default login account's password.

Once you've reset the password, you can quit/exit out of recovery mode and let the computer reboot.  Log in with the new password.  You will need to create a new login keychain.  All previously saved passwords in the login keychain login will be lost, unless you remember the original keychain password.
serialband

Commented:
I should have added that if this is filevault encrypted, you actually will need that filevault recovery key.  Otherwise, you have to wipe the system and start over.