How can I reset a Mac's password from Single User Mode?

Question

My sister bought a used MacBook about 6 months ago and she has lost her password.

Here is the procedure I tried to use to reset the password:

1. Boot into single user mode (press Command-S at power on)
2. Type fsck -fy
3. Type mount -uw /
4. Type launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist
5. Type dscl . -passwd /Users/username password, replacing username with the targeted user and password with the desired password.
6. Reboot

But when I try the step 4, it says launch_msg(): Socket is not connected.

I would like to know what command to enter in the single user mode to know what version the Macbook is running and the right command to reset the password. Thank you.

Answer 1

Once you mount the file system, you should be able to use passwd username and then put in the password twice.

Answer 2

Try loading com.apple.opendirectoryd.plist instead. See this answer and the comments at 10.7: Reset Password - Mac OS X Hints.

1. Hold ⌘S on startup
2. mount -uw / (fsck -fy is not needed)
3. launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.opendirectoryd.plist (or /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist in 10.6 and earlier)
4. dscl . passwd /Users/username (without a trailing slash) and enter a new password. You can ignore the error about com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist.
5. reboot