This article describes how to change the administrator account’s password on a Mac.
Use an Administrator Account to Reset Another Administrator Account
Resetting an administrator account isn’t difficult as long as you have a second administrator account. Having a second administrator account is a good idea for troubleshooting various problems, such as forgetting a password.
Of course, that only functions if you remember the password for the other administrator account. Try one of the strategies below if you need help remembering that password too.
1. Access a different administrator account.
2- Open the Users & Groups preference pane in System Preferences.
3- Enter your administrator password by clicking the lock symbol in the bottom left corner of the preference pane.
4- Choose the administrator account whose password has to be changed in the left-hand pane.
5- In the right pane, select the Reset Password button.
6- On the screen that appears, change the account’s password, confirm it, and add a password hint if you’d like.
7- Click Change Password.
How to Reset an Administrator Account Using Your Apple ID
You may reset your Mac’s administrator account using your Apple ID, one of the capabilities included with OS X Lion. Any user account type, including a standard account, managed account, or sharing account, can have its password reset using this feature.
The Apple ID must be linked to the account to reset the password. When you initially configured your Mac or when you added user accounts, you would have linked your Apple ID to your user account.
1. Three erroneous password entries at the login screen. If you set up a password hint, you’ll see a message with it displayed, along with the choice to reset your password using your Apple ID. Select the little button next to the… on the right side. Utilizing your Apple ID text, reset it.
2. After entering your Apple ID and password, click the Reset Password button.
3- You will see a warning message informing you that changing the password will create a new keychain file. Your keychain stores frequently used passwords, so if you create a new keychain, you’ll typically need to add new passwords for some of the services you use, such as email accounts and websites you’ve configured for automatic login. To change the password, press the OK button.
4- Click Reset Password after entering the new password and a password hint.
When you’re done, you’ll be prompted to restart.
For this technique to operate, System Preferences > Users & Groups must have the Allow user to reset the password using the Apple ID checkbox selected.
