# can't login, user account gone



## arleycornell (Jan 17, 2011)

Recently I restarted my Mac and when it came to the password prompt, my password did not work. I tried it several times, and it even gave me the password hint. I clicked "back", and the only user option is "Other". What should I do to restore my profile and login?


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## Giaguara (Jan 17, 2011)

If the usual (capslock or numlock on/off) tricks don't make a difference and the password is still not accepted, you can reset the password using the install disc that came with the Mac (or OS X disc of the system installed, if later than what the Mac was shipped with).
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1274

Or if the disc is not available, that can be done also in single-user mode
(Details in http://macosx.com/forums/howto-faqs/300019-howto-reset-user-password-via-single-user-mode.html)


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## arleycornell (Jan 24, 2011)

I have tried that, it did nothing... there is no user account. How should I restore my account? Is there a way to create a new user admin account from the OSX install disc? Would reinstalling the OS help or allow me to create a new user account?


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## Giaguara (Jan 29, 2011)

I wonder what happened to the user account - it shouldn't just disappear.

But - yes, we can create a new account even without the install disc, or without reinstalling the OS X for it:

Start the Mac in single-user mode (*command* and *s* keys down while booting, until you see the prompt).

At the prompt, type *fsck -yf *and press the return key.
Type *mount -uw /* and press the return key. (note the space)
Type *rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone* and press return. (note again the exact locations of spaces etc)
Type *reboot* and hit enter.

It should after that reboot act as if you had just installed OS X for the first time - it will prompt you for information to set up an administrator level account.

Or alternatively this may work well for you http://macosx.com/forums/mac-os-x-system-mac-software/295356-uninitialize-mac-os-x.html


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## Mackster (Mar 13, 2011)

arleycornell said:


> I have tried that, it did nothing... there is no user account. How should I restore my account? Is there a way to create a new user admin account from the OSX install disc? Would reinstalling the OS help or allow me to create a new user account?


Arley

I have experienced same problem twice in three months. It happened again today after a normal shutdown last evening. This time startup seemed normal with my user account sign in showing on screen but when I inputed my log in password it rejected several times. then did a forced shut down and next time up I saw only 'Other' as an option. 

Last time I fixed by starting fresh with a new OS and reinstalling everything-what a pain. This time I will revert from a backup done three days ago to troublesome internal system.

I'd love to know what's going on here.


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## ratgeek (Apr 14, 2011)

I had the same problem, I have documented my solution here.. Hope it helps!


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