Can't log on with Admin on OSX!?!? HELP!!!!

S

Scribblah

Registered
Problem:
When computer boots it takes me to the login screen. I have two logins, one me (admin) and the other my wife (restricted access). When I type my password and press enter it sits there for 10 minutes with the white and blue stripe bar turning and I get nothing. Soon after I get frustrated and press reset.

Funny thing is I can log on with my wifes account but of course I can't do much in there other than use Office or browse the net.

Is there anything I can do to get back into Admin?! Do I have to reinstall Jaguar?

Misc.
I ran Disk First aid and got into OS9 somehow and could see that all my files for my user name were still there.


HELP ME PLEASE!

Frustrated.
 
Have you tried logging is a the root user? If you can do that then you'll be able to get in and sort out your account.
 
Boot from your system CD. You can do that by holding down C as you turn on your Mac.

Find the option that allows you to change your password. Make it simple. Remember, it's case sensitive and only the first eight characters are used.

Reboot from your hard drive and try again to log in with your admin account.

** Double check that your caps lock key is not set.

Doug
 
Doug,

Am I going to be booting from my Jaguar CD? Or the OSX?

Hope this works....I can get into my wifes account but can't get into my main admin account.

Hmmm
 
Resetting the password probably won't help much here, as the password is obviously accepted. I've had the same problem myself. Have you tried just waiting, and see if it logs in at all after a while?

The file system is probably corrupted, and every time you press the reset button, it's getting more and more messed up.
Try restarting the computer while holding down the command key (with the apple logo on) and s. Release them when you see scary unix text scrolling down on the screen. That brings you into single user mode. When it seems to have finished loading, type

fsck -y

and press return. That will verify several parts of the volume structure and attempt fixing any eventual problems. Unless it says "The volume '*your volume name*' appears to be OK", enter fsck -y again and press return.
If it still doesn't say the volume appears to be OK, you probably need to run some more extensive volume repairs.
 
I did fsck -y and it said the "volume HD appears to be OK". I rebooted and it still won't let me log on. I left it sitting there with the white and blue candy stripe going for like 2 hours and it still didn't let me on.

I also tried placing my jaguar cd and then it takes me to a screen that asks me to type either "mac-boot" return and "shut-down" return. Then if I boot it takes me to 9.2. WTF?

I still can log onto my secondary account but it does not allow me admin functions.

Anybody have any other ideas? This seems like a tough one. Thanks to those that have replied.
 
Sounds like something is wrong with the CD, too. Check for marks and fingerprints on it.
Also try resetting the PRAM by holding down command+alt+p+r on startup when you hear the sound. Release the keys when you've heard the startup chime two more times. Keep in mind that resets settings like startup volume, time and screen resolution, so odd behaviour is normal ;)
 
I also had the same problem. fsck -y reported the disk was fine. Kept preventing me logging in except as non admin until finally it self rectified. But since then it has screwed up badly in other ways.

You are right about forced restarts increasing the damage but what else can you do when you get those progressive spinning beachballs and force quitting doesn't work (the norm for me).

I tried installing an older version (10.1.3) on a spare HD and got the perpetual spinning beachball within 4 mins of a clean install. The alleged stability is a myth on my machine.
 
Is your wife's account restricted enough that you can't access the System Preferences? Because if you can access them, you should be able to create a new account by entering your admin password.
 
Scribblah, did you ever figure out how to fix this? I've been experiencing the exact same thing. I can only log in with my original account. I've tried to make new accounts, but they won't login. I can login the new accounts through ssh, but not through the login window.
 
I wish there was some good news but unfortunately I never did figure out the problem.

Luckily I was able to boot into OS9 and get all my files from OSX that were important and burn them.

Then I had to wipe out the hard drive and start over. Yep, I started over and loaded everything from OS 9 to Jaguar. The good thing is *knock on wood* everything is working fine. I thought it was the hard drive but it seems like the files were what was wrong.

Sorry i wish I had better news but I had to wipe it all out and load everything again.

Hope everything goes well.
 
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