I don’t know my password.
It’s your dog’s name.
Seriously, if you have forgotten your password, don’t fret. There are four types of passwords that you can forget and each requires a different tactic to recover.
- User login password: This is the password you need to log in, install new software, and change some system preferences. See the question, “How do I reset my user login (system) password?” Or try "How can I change my user login (system) password if I know my current password?"
- Login keychain password: This is the password to access your keychain, which stores all the passwords you asked your Mac to remember from websites and other applications. See the question, “How do I reset my keychain password?”
- Website and email passwords: See the question “How do I recover a password I forgot for a website or email account?”
- FileVault password: The encryption for FileVault is very strong, and there’s not much you can do your user password and master password in Snow Leopard (10.6) or earlier. If you're using the FileVault with Lion (10.7) or later, you were given the option to send a recovery key to Apple digitally when you turned on FileVault originally. If you cannot find your recovery key, but stored it with Apple, contact Apple Support.
Published March 24, 2009 12:00 PM
Last modified on November 25, 2011 1:11 PM
Related Links
What is the best password to use?How do I password protect a set of files with an encrypted disk image?
How can I change another user's password?
How do I recover a password I forgot for a website or email account?
How do I reset my user login (system) password?
How do I reset my keychain password?
How can I change my user login (system) password if I know my current password?
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