Root user in Mac OS is an individual user, different than administrators and has exclusive rights and powers to make any change to the system. If you forgot the password of Mac OS Root user, see how to recover Root password using different methods in Mac OS. In this guide, you will see how to reset or change root user password using the Directory Utilities, from the Terminal app or with the help of a boot DVD.
See also: How to Enable/Disable Root User on Mac
Apple's macOS is a secure operating system, and at the heart of its security is your password: you will need this whenever you install new software or make changes to macOS via System Preferences.
- Jan 15, 2020 1Password is good, but there are many others to choose from, including LastPass, Dashlane, and mSecure.If you want to find more password management options, open the Mac App Store and search for the word password.
- Interesting question. I don't know the answer, but if OS X behaves like other UNIXes (and I suspect it does), it is possible to for a userid to exist without a password. In that case, the login is disabled and incoming ssh connections will prompt for a password but.
Change the root password
Root password can be changed from Directory Utilities.
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- Click the Apple menu (), select System Preferences, and then click Users & Groups (or Accounts) according to your Mac OS version.
- Now, click the Lock icon to make changes, and you have to enter administrator name and password.
- Click Login Options and then Click Join (or Edit) depends on Mac OS version.
- Select Open Directory Utility, and here again click the Lock, and then enter the admin username and password.
- Once you are on the Directory Utility window, on the top click the menu Edit > Change Root Password.
- Type and change the root password.
Set root password using Terminal
- Click Finder icon on the dock and Navigate to Applications > Utilities and launch Terminal
- Copy and paste or just type the following command in the Terminal window and hit enter/return
sudo passwd root
It asks for your password, so enter the password of your current login and press enter/return. - Now it asks to set a New password for Root user, type new password and hit enter/return.
- Retype Root password and press enter/return.
- The Root password has been changed.
Reset root user password with installation DVD
Use installation DVD of Mac OS X to boot your Mac and through Reset Password option set a new password for Root.
Take a look at the changes that you can make to the login process. First, Mac OS X provides three methods of displaying the login screen:
- Logging in with a list: To log in, click your account username in the
list, and the login screen displays the password prompt. Type your
password — Mac OS X displays bullet characters to ensure security — and press Return (or click the Log In button).
- Logging in with username and password: Type your account username in the Name field and press Tab. Then type your password and press Return (or click the Log In button).
Mac Os Default Font
- Auto Login: With Auto Login set, Mac OS X automatically logs in the specified account when you reboot. In effect, you never see the login screen unless you click Log Out from the Apple menu. (Naturally, this option is attractive if your computer is in a secure location — like your office — and you’ll be the only one using your Mac.)
To specify which type of login screen you see — if you see one at all — head to System Preferences, click Accounts, and then click the Login Options button.
- To set Auto Login, display the Login Options settings and select the Automatically Log in As check box to enable it. Click the account name drop-down list box and choose the account that should automatically log in. When Mac OS X displays the user Name and Password sheet that you see in Figure 1, type the corresponding password and then click OK.
![Password Password](/uploads/1/1/8/5/118593918/195725752.png)
Figure 1: Configuring Auto Login from the Accounts panel.
- Never set the Auto Login feature to an admin-level account unless you’re sure to be the only one using your Mac. If the computer is rebooted, you’re opening the door for anyone to simply sashay in and wreak havoc!
- To determine whether Mac OS X uses a list login screen, you must again visit the Login Options settings panel (see Figure 2). Select the List
of Users radio button for a list login screen or select the Name and Password radio button for a simple login screen where you must type your username and password.
Figure 2: Will that be a simple or a list login screen?
To change settings specific to your account — no matter what your access level — log in with your account, open System Preferences, and click Accounts. From here, you can change your account password and picture, the card marked as yours within the Address Book, and the Login Items launched automatically when you log in.
To log out of Mac OS X without restarting or shutting down the computer, choose the Apple menu and then either choose Log Out or just press COMMAND+Shift+Q. The confirmation dialog box shown in Figure 3 appears. Although Mac OS X displays the login screen after two minutes, someone can still saunter up and click the Cancel button, thereby gaining access to your stuff. Therefore, make it a practice to always click the Log Out button on this screen before your hand leaves the mouse!
Figure 3: Always click Log Out before you leave your Mac.
Mac Os Default Calendar
You can also enable Fast User Switching from the Login Options panel. This feature allows another user to sit down and log in while the previous user’s applications are still running in the background. When you enable switching, Tiger displays the currently active user’s name at the right side of the Finder menu bar. Click the name, and a menu appears; click Login Window, and another user can then log in as usual. Even though you’re playing musical chairs, the Big X remembers what’s running and the state of your Desktop when you last left it. (When you decide to switch back, Tiger prompts you for that account’s login password . . . just in case, you understand.)