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Is it possible to reset a user's/root password for a mac image running inside vmware workstation?

I googled for a while and also searched on this site but didn't find anything.

Single user mode (i.e. pressing Cmd+S at boottime) doesn't seem to work under vmware.

Using vmware-fusion tag as the closest possible for this question as I can't create new tags.

----- Adding some notes here:

Finally figured out how to mount the vmdk.

Since my vm is on win7, I shared the vm folder over the network. I used the vmdkmounter (that comes with vmware fusion 3.x ) to mount my vmdk file on a mac. Removed /private/var/db/.AppleSetupDone as mentioned by bmike. I had to use

$ sudo rm .AppleSetupDone

as this file was owned by root.

I followed the instructions here: http://blog.michael.kuron-germany.de/2011/10/mount-ext3-vmdk-in-vmware-fusion/ that shows how to mount the vmdk.

Unmounted the vmdk. Restarted the vm and created a new account.

Before this, I tried a lot of options to mount the .vmdk including - xmount on ubuntu - vmware-mount.pl (comes with vmware server) on ubuntu - winmount application on win7

but none of them really worked for me.

Thanks everyone for your help.

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1 Answer 1

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A quick solution to the problem is to simply make a new admin account with a password you know. The details are covered step by step in another answer, but here is the summary:

You should be able to mount the disk image of the mac using vmware tools and delete the /private/var/db/.AppleSetupDone file. Upon the next boot of the VM, you will be prompted to create a new admin user whereby you can choose a new unique short name (to avoid stomping on an existing account) and use that admin account to reset the other user's password.

If you truly need to enter single user mode from inside your virtual machine, simply remap the keys as described in this KB article from VMWare:

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  • Thanks for the super-quick replies. (1) I do not have any passwords for this vm. It just boots and autologins into a admin account. (2) I am trying to mount the image. I tried mounting this on windows using vmware-mount.exe on WinXP but the mounted drive isn't accessible probably because it isn't FAT32/NTFS. Need to try this on linux/mac. (3) I couldn't find a way to map keys using vmware workstation on win7. I don't have vmware server. I will keep you updated with my progress.
    – user674669
    Commented Feb 27, 2012 at 19:56
  • Indeed - we edited the question since explicitly asking about unlicensed use of Mac OS on non Apple hardware is a grey area for the site - your question works in the general case where VMWare is running on Mac hardware rather than Windows hardware, so that edit not only makes it more widely useful but clear of the FAQ issues.
    – bmike ♦
    Commented Feb 27, 2012 at 20:04
  • You may have to reach out to VMWare for assistance in customizing your version of the software to emulate the Mac command key and the S key. It might even be easier since you my not even have a physical keyboard connected to the machine - let alone a mac keyboard.
    – bmike ♦
    Commented Feb 27, 2012 at 20:09
  • Finally figured out how to mount the vmdk. I followed the instructions here: blog.michael.kuron-germany.de/2011/10/…
    – user674669
    Commented Feb 29, 2012 at 11:39

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