Reset Your User Account Password Using Your Apple ID [OS X Tips]

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Apple ID User Account

Have you ever lost your user account password for your Mac? You know, the one which lets you get into your Mac at login, or install software, or delete stuff from the Applications folder? You haven’t? Well, you’re a better person than I am, because I’ve forgotten mine (usually on older Macs I haven’t used in a billion years, but still) and had to pop in a Mac OS X CD and go through the recovery process.

While that’s not too big of a pain in the butt, it does take some time. Time which could be better spent drinking beer, or solving a Rubik’s Cube, am I right?

If you’re running Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks, you can assign your Apple ID to your user account, which can help when you need to reset your password. You know, if you forget it or something. Ahem.

First, you’ll have to do this before you need to reset your password. So do it now, in case you forget tomorrow. Launch System Preferences and click on Users & Groups. If the little lock icon is locked, click it and enter your admin credentials (which include the password you might forget overnight) to unlock it.

Next, click on the Set button next to the Apple ID section. Once you click Set, you’ll enter in your Apple ID information, with the email you use and the password you use for iTunes and iCloud, and click OK. If you need to create a new Apple ID, click the Create New Apple ID button. If you already have an Apple ID associated with your user account, you can click on the Change button.

Once the Apple ID info is entered, be sure to click the Allow user to reset password using Apple ID checkbox.

Now, when you login to your Mac, and you’ve forgotten your password, you can click on the reset password with Apple ID button. Enter your Apple ID credentials, and you’ll be able to reset your user account password with nary a bit of fuss. Hoorah!

Via: OS X Daily

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