This was originally published on 09/24/2013 by former technician Jeremy Holt.
Reinstalling a computer’s operating system (OS) should not be a foreign concept to you. Whenever your computer experiences severe software issues, an effective solution is to reinstall a known-good (KG) version of your OS.
As standard as this might seem, there isn’t a day that goes by when someone doesn’t contact us about software issues and has absolutely no idea where the install DVD is.
This feature, known as the recovery partition, was first introduced in OS X Lion. Apple refers to it as OS X’s new “safety net” and does not require a physical install disc. All you need to do is hold down Command-R during startup and OS X Recovery springs into action.
Once booted into it, you can choose from a lot of useful utilities like Disk Utility to check or repair your hard drive. You can restore your Mac from a Time Machine Backup, and even use Safari to get help from Apple Support online.
Perhaps my favorite utility that’s made available through OS X Recovery is Terminal. I strongly recommend against tinkering with this application for most users, as it gives you backdoor access to the system. Entering incorrect commands can cause major systematic issues with your computer.
However, the only command that’s easy to use is “resetpassword”. That’s right — you can reset your password free of charge! As many customers as there are who can’t recall where they placed their install discs, there are twice as many who forget their password (or worse, don’t remember even creating one).
So, when you’re in OS X Recovery, you can locate Terminal under Utilities < Terminal. Once the window opens, type in “resetpassword” and hit enter; the reset password utility will appear, at which point you can create a new one.
Please please please, write down this new one or save it in your notes on your iPhone/iPad. (Or, look into a password app or utility that saves passwords with high security.) Do whatever you need to never lose it. Do this and you can save yourself a car ride and/or phone call.