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General discussion

iBook re-install, to delete admin passwords ?

Mar 1, 2011 9:29PM PST

Hi Guys,

i have a couple of iBooks that i got ex-school but the snag is they have administration passwords on some of the system preferences. 10.4.11 is the OS on the laptops
Can't access date and time to re-set, admin and student accounts on the desktop
I did not get any discs with them.
They are are loaded with great programmes ,art, educational and Word etc.

Discs i have are ,10.2.1 & 10.3.
10.2.1doesnot support Word etc.
I re-installed with 10.3 on one laptop and it all works beautifully but i noticed the Disc Utility does not work very quickly and does not seem right.

Does this matter?

I am trying to get the install disc but being in the country makes it hard , none on ebay at present.

Any ideas?

Regards
Laura

Is there any way

Discussion is locked

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If you boot the Install DVD
Mar 1, 2011 10:19PM PST

If you boot the install DVD, right after selecting a language, in the Utility menu there's a password reset program. I won't guarantee that a 10.2 or 10.3 disc will reset the password on 10.4, but it would be worth a shot if you ask me. This is assuming the person who sold you the laptops doesn't know the password.

And just FYI, whomever sold you those laptops really should have wiped the drive, because the license for any commercial programs will likely be for the school, not you. So, technically speaking, those are all pirated programs.

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iBook?
Mar 2, 2011 8:09AM PST

Hi,

"If you boot the install DVD, right after selecting a language, in the Utility menu there's a password reset program."

This was what i did .

I read that once you have done this , got to this point you can stop the install and it is all fixed and you preserve the earlier OS, which in my case is the later version?

What do you think?
You done this ?


Laura

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Before that
Mar 2, 2011 10:24AM PST

Before that. You don't even need to go past the first screen. Once the menu bar appears at the top, you can then load the password reset program from the utilities menu.

Now, like I said, it may or may not work on a newer version of the OS. It's at least worth a try assuming you can't get the password out of the person that sold you the things in the first place.

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You are correct,
Mar 2, 2011 10:25AM PST

that is what happens after you have finished running the Password Reset utility and Quit the installer.

The machine reboots and off you go

P

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I tried this on my G3 running 10.4, and it worked
Mar 2, 2011 11:39PM PST
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What makes you think that the poster would
Mar 3, 2011 3:49AM PST

lose Tiger if she used the install DVD?

P

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She has Tiger on her iBooks now
Mar 6, 2011 4:51AM PST

but she doesn't have an install disk for 10.4. She only has install disk for 10.2 and 10.3, and if she uses either of these, she will not have Tiger anymore.

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She is only going to reset the passwords
Mar 6, 2011 7:12AM PST

which does not involve running the installer all the way through.

The Password Reset utility appears before the install dialog starts

P

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Curse you
Mar 6, 2011 7:13AM PST

Curse you and your efficiency for beating me by mere seconds! Silly

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Only if
Mar 6, 2011 7:12AM PST

Only if she used them to install the OS, not merely reset the admin password.

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Ok
Mar 6, 2011 9:26AM PST

I'm always learning.

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Ibookpasswords
Mar 6, 2011 10:08PM PST

"which does not involve running the installer all the way through."

What is the best way to stop the process?

Just turn-off??


Laura

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in the menu bar
Mar 7, 2011 5:57AM PST

you will find the Quit Installer option.

P

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Re-install
Mar 29, 2011 11:40PM PDT

I find tonight when i am doing the re-install the Admin Password is required to do the shutdown during install.
Frustrating!!

How do i get around this ?
I tried the install from the disc on start-upand then from the desk-top.
Same problem .

Laura

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Turning it off also works
Mar 7, 2011 9:44AM PST

Turning it off also works, since you're not really using the internal drive while booted off of the install DVD, there's less chance of any kind of harm than usual by just turning the system off. Normally the odds are slim to none, if booted off the install DVD, then slim is getting into his car and making his way out of the parking lot on his way home.

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iBook password reset
Mar 24, 2011 4:23PM PDT

Thanks Guys,
so what you say is i can keep Tiger , re-set password all by putting another OS install disc in eg.10.2 , 10.3 10.4.2 ?

Just run the install to the password re-set point and then quit or turn off?

Laptop keeps those changes but reverts to the original system.

*How far down the Install process do i need to go to get a 10.4.11
Clean Install and quit or am i stretching it a bit?

Not possible?

What is the difference between an Install disc and a Restore disc?

Laura

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A recap of everything,
Mar 24, 2011 9:55PM PDT

1. Yes, you can keep Tiger, and reset the password by using another OS install disk.
2. Yes
3. Yes. There is no revert in it. The OS version is not changed in any way when you do that.
4. Not possible given the information you have provided so far. A clean install of 10.4.11 will require, at the very least, an OS X 10.4.0 installation disk, something that you say you do not have.
5. See above.
7. A Restore Disk is something that was shipped with the original computer and contains everything that was on the computer when it left the factory. OS X, iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD and a few other bits and pieces. Using this disk, you can take the computer back to how it was on the day the box was opened by the original user.
An Installation disk is a disk that contains just OS X. There are none of the usual, see above, applications on the disk. Using this disk, assuming it contains a later version of OS X than the computer, it is possible to upgrade the OS from its current OS version to whatever version is on the installation disk. Upgrading will keep all existing applications and user data intact.

Any more questions?

P

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iBook.
Mar 24, 2011 10:09PM PDT

P,

many thanks for a easy to understand reply ,brilliant and well explained.

iBook G3&G4, what is the latest system i can install?
As it might be easier to get a more recent OSX.

Regards
Laura

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On the G3/G4 question
Mar 24, 2011 11:32PM PDT

On the G3/G4 question, which I can't reply to directly... You'll have to look up the system requirements for each version. I think the G3 pretty much topped out at 10.3. You MIGHT be able to get 10.4 on it, but it probably wouldn't be a pleasant experience.

The G4 would depend on if it's an early G4 model or later G4 model. In theory, you could go up to 10.5 with a G4, but I believe you needed at least an 867MHz CPU to install 10.5. So there are probably plenty of older G4 systems that won't work with 10.5. At least one CPU, in the event of multiple CPUs, had to be 867MHz or greater as well. A 2x500MHz PowerMac G4 system would not cut it, because those two CPUs do not stack to create the performance of a single 1GHz CPU.

In my experience, you want at least a 1GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM to run 10.5 without wanting to tear your hair out.

Anyway, Wikipedia might be a quick way to find out the system requirements for each version of Mac OS X, and since all people would have to do is copy and paste data right from Apple's website, it should be reasonably accurate. And whatever the minimum requirements are, multiply them by about 1.25 to figure what you need for adequate performance.

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iBook install
Mar 30, 2011 12:01AM PDT

Hi,during the re-installi have toshut-downbut the computer asks for my Admin PWord?
Annoying .
Any ideas?

Laura

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Ibook
Mar 29, 2011 11:47PM PDT

Hi,

oddly during the re-install you need to shut-down/restart..at this point i need the Admin PW.
So i can't procede.
how do i get around this?

Laura

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That's because you are not actually booting the machine
Mar 30, 2011 1:38AM PDT

from the Installation disk.

With the installation disk in the optical drive, shut down the computer.

Now power it up again and hold down the "C" key until you see the spinning gear.

On completion of the boot, you will be running OS X off the DVD and be free to change the passwords.
You're dragging this problem out a little! Happy

P

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iBook
Apr 24, 2011 1:37AM PDT

Hi Guys,
i tried various discs but had problems.
Then i used a G4 disc and it was so simple!
Just as you said.

The main problem is that we have here a Telstra Turbo wireless BB system which needs 10.4.11 to run it.
If you update an earlier OS10.4 via software updates will it update to the specs to run the BB dongle?
Does it update to the highest iBook OS or how does it work?

Laura

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Software update will update your OS
Apr 24, 2011 1:59AM PDT

to the highest available for your machine.
If the machine is running 10.3.x then Software Updater will take you to 10.3.5
If the machine is running 10.4.x then Software Updater will take you to 10.4.11

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iBook
Apr 30, 2011 4:04AM PDT

Yes, very helpful, many thanks.

"If the machine is running 10.4.x then Software Updater will take you to
10.4.11"

so then if you use the Software Updater you then can get to software on the previous system, in my case i installed 10.4.2 over 10.4.11, as it was the disc set i had.
I don't have 10.4.11.
Then perhaps after Software Updater updates the About this Mac ?

When using the discs to reset the passwords is there anything you can use to delete the previous admin desktop box?
Can you get rid of this crap without doing a clean install?
These accounts can be deleted if the - icon appears , sometimes it is not an option.

Some things about Macs just are a real delight in their simplicity and i guess one takes them forgranted.


Cheers
Laura
i