How do I reset the password to access my Mac?

Attempting to over-ride the security of another's computer is an invasion of privacy and is illegal in most jurisdictions.

With that said, legitimate owners of Macintosh computers may correct their passwords with the following methods. Both require you to use the system CD that came with your legitimately purchased Mac.

OSX:

As the administrator of the system, you can insert the OSX system CD and then restart while holding the 'C' key. This will boot from the CD. The CD will automatically attempt to start the system installer. Ignore the installer. Go to the menu at the top of the screen and and choose to reset the password.

In a multi-user environment, it may become a nuisance when subordinate users keep changing their passwords and then forgetting them. You can disable this ability by opening the Users preference pane and limiting their Capabilities.

This operation takes no more than 5 minutes.


OS9:

Insert the system CD and restart the computer while holding the 'C' key. Perform a clean system installation to overwrite old security settings. This will not delete any existing programs. It simply refreshes your operating system without password protection.

This operation takes no more than 45 minutes on most Macs.

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If you do not have your original system CD and you forgot your password, then you must be silly or an individual that is not supposed to access the computer. In this instance, there is no possible way to help you.