Reset a Mac Admin Account Password

If you ever plan to buy a used Mac, bookmark this page because you will need it. Both Mac's I've purchased on eBay came with default Admin accounts without a password - but here's the catch - to update any software (new or existing) you need a password. What to do? Usually you can just pop in the OS disk and go on with life, but if you bought used then you probably don't have that oh so important disk.

Here's what you do...delete Leopard's setup completion marker and make it start over. Basically, you fool the OS into thinking that this is the first time you've turned the computer on, and it let's you create a new user account and password upon reboot.

Follow the steps on this blog post then complete the following to keep the programs and data:

Once you're back in the system with your new account, you can then reset the password on the original Admin account, and then switch users back to the original Admin account. This ensures that you preserve all the programs and files associated with the original Admin account. You're only at risk of losing the programs/files if you delete the original Admin profile (so don't do that). Simple, eh??