Password

Michael Vilain <vilain.RemoveThis@spamcop.net> wrote:

> In article <1189990906.316390.308860.RemoveThis@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com>,
> OldMac77 <68rosedrive.RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I have an iMac with both OS 9.2 and OS X installed. I do not have the
> > passowrd for the 9.2 system however I can boot using the X. Is there
> > a way that I can reset/remove the 9.2 password while logged into the
> > OS X? (No 9.2 CD)
> >
> > Thanks for your help.
> >
> > OldMac
>
> Can you explain why you think you need to set a password on MacOS 9 and
> what you do to get a login prompt? I have MacOS 9 and MacOS X 10.4 on
> my system (it's one of those that can boot MacOS 9) and I don't see
> anything in my startup that asks for a password.

Mac OS 9.2 does support a rudimentary "multiple users" mechanism, with
passwords. I never used it so I'm not familar with how it operates. It
is based around a control panel called Multiple Users.

There is a nominal "owner" and a set of managed users. You need to log
in as the owner to be able to manage the system.

It isn't clear from the online help if there is an easy way to bypass
Multiple Users if you don't know the owner password.

Given that you can boot into Mac OS X, my first suggestion would be to
go into /System Folder/Control Panels and move the Multiple Users
control panel somewhere out of the way, then try restarting in Mac OS 9.

There are likely to be tie-ins to Keychain and various other components.

> Just in case it's something in your Extensions folder, have you tried
> booting with the SHIFT key down?

That might work, but does the Shift key disable control panels, or only
Extensions?

--
David Empson
dempson.RemoveThis@actrix.gen.nz
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On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 21:01:46 -0400, OldMac77 wrote
(in article <1189990906.316390.308860.DeleteThis@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com>):

> Hello All,
>
> I have an iMac with both OS 9.2 and OS X installed. I do not have the
> passowrd for the 9.2 system however I can boot using the X. Is there
> a way that I can reset/remove the 9.2 password while logged into the
> OS X? (No 9.2 CD)

<http://kb.wisc.edu/helpdesk/page.php?id=1014>

>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> OldMac
>



--
email to oshea dot j dot j at gmail dot com.
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On Mon, 17 Sep 2007 02:30:58 -0400, Michael Vilain wrote
(in article <vilain-327990.23305816092007.DeleteThis@comcast.dca.giganews.com>):

> In article <1189990906.316390.308860.DeleteThis@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com>,
> OldMac77 <68rosedrive.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hello All,
>>
>> I have an iMac with both OS 9.2 and OS X installed. I do not have the
>> passowrd for the 9.2 system however I can boot using the X. Is there
>> a way that I can reset/remove the 9.2 password while logged into the
>> OS X? (No 9.2 CD)
>>
>> Thanks for your help.
>>
>> OldMac
>
> Can you explain why you think you need to set a password on MacOS 9 and
> what you do to get a login prompt? I have MacOS 9 and MacOS X 10.4 on
> my system (it's one of those that can boot MacOS 9) and I don't see
> anything in my startup that asks for a password.
>
> Just in case it's something in your Extensions folder, have you tried
> booting with the SHIFT key down?
>
>

He's talking about Multiple Users. (I think.)

Booting with the shift key down will _NOT_ disable Multiple Users. That's A
(Security) Feature, Not A Bug(tm).

--
email to oshea dot j dot j at gmail dot com.
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On Mon, 17 Sep 2007 05:30:24 -0400, David Empson wrote
(in article <1i4k0d5.1s7gdnb1pql4l1N%dempson@actrix.gen.nz>):

> Michael Vilain <vilain.DeleteThis@spamcop.net> wrote:
>
>> In article <1189990906.316390.308860.DeleteThis@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com>,
>> OldMac77 <68rosedrive.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I have an iMac with both OS 9.2 and OS X installed. I do not have the
>>> passowrd for the 9.2 system however I can boot using the X. Is there
>>> a way that I can reset/remove the 9.2 password while logged into the
>>> OS X? (No 9.2 CD)
>>>
>>> Thanks for your help.
>>>
>>> OldMac
>>
>> Can you explain why you think you need to set a password on MacOS 9 and
>> what you do to get a login prompt? I have MacOS 9 and MacOS X 10.4 on
>> my system (it's one of those that can boot MacOS 9) and I don't see
>> anything in my startup that asks for a password.
>
> Mac OS 9.2 does support a rudimentary "multiple users" mechanism, with
> passwords. I never used it so I'm not familar with how it operates. It
> is based around a control panel called Multiple Users.
>
> There is a nominal "owner" and a set of managed users. You need to log
> in as the owner to be able to manage the system.
>
> It isn't clear from the online help if there is an easy way to bypass
> Multiple Users if you don't know the owner password.
>
> Given that you can boot into Mac OS X, my first suggestion would be to
> go into /System Folder/Control Panels and move the Multiple Users
> control panel somewhere out of the way, then try restarting in Mac OS 9.
>
> There are likely to be tie-ins to Keychain and various other components.
>
>> Just in case it's something in your Extensions folder, have you tried
>> booting with the SHIFT key down?
>
> That might work, but does the Shift key disable control panels, or only
> Extensions?
>
>

The shift key will disable _most_ extensions and control panels. It doesn't
disable Multiple Users. This is a deliberate security feature. Multiple Users
was intended for deployment in places like classrooms and other places where
many people would use the same machine, and the whole point was to prevent
unauthorised access. IIRC the only way to bypass it was to boot from a
floppy, a CD or other external boot device, and then to delete the Multiple
User pref file. That's the reason why a lot of 'education' and 'office' Macs
of the era didn't ship with CD drives (see further Quadra 605 and its
Performa cousins, for example) and why many little floppy-drive lock gadgets
were sold.

--
email to oshea dot j dot j at gmail dot com.
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