Can Mac forget your passwords?

[evennewerbie]

I have been wasting a lot of time trying to set up a new printer. Nothing special, an HP 4650 which is cheap but should supply my needs it is a big advance on the 2540 bought for nearly the same price couple of years ago. But I was having difficulty setting it up. Installation required new supplying my Mac password, and it was not accepted. I tried about three different procedures that I found online for password changes and couldn't make any of them work, Basically you need to supply your password for this and it wasn't accepted. I am pretty sure it was right, because I changed it not long ago when I setup, On advice from this site, an Administrators account.

I spent about two hours on the phone with Apple yesterday to change this password, going into obscure recesses of the computer that I doubt I could find again. But okay after two hours I managed to change the password, the HP installation accepted it and I installed my printer software. So that was successful, and the only thing wrong is that I still can't print from my Mac, which is a drawback from the user point of view. That is, there is some communication because four examplecan Scan and send me the scan, but if I try to print from the Mac all the right masks seem to come up more or less but it says it's not connected. So there is still something to work through on the software.

And to make this sort of change I was told you have to do it through the admin account. So I went there - and I couldn't get into it because my password set up yesterday and used two or three times at least was not accepted! I had made sure that it was nothing fancy, but just straightforward lower case letters and I wrote it down on paper, I can't believe there is any error on my part. My previous password, of which I am pretty sure as well, didn't work either. (Sure it is a shame that Mac doesn't have the same system as iPad where you can see the letters you have typed for a few seconds). So before I go back to Apple and hopefully get more help on the same problem I ask:

Does this sort of thing suggest anything to anyone?
Is it possible for Mac to forget my password?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Normally, no, the Mac will not forget your password. When you do successfully change your password, the first thing you should do is restart your Mac. If you don't restart, it will sometimes think you are still using the old password. Since that didn't work either, I would check to see if you have Allow user to reset password using Apple ID enabled in  > System Preferences... > Users & Groups.

As for as the printer issue, not sure why it is not working. However, for several versions of OS X, Apple is the one that updates the printer drives for the major manufacturers, and the installers that you get from the printer vendor's site are not needed, and can cause issues. Apple has given all the printer manufacturers the specific system calls to create their drivers and submit them to Apple for inclusion in Software Updates, as you can see here:

HP Customer Support - Software and Driver Downloads: HP OfficeJet 4650 All-in-One Printer

C

 

[evennewerbie]

Thank you. It seems I have two problems, passwords and printer software.

Progress report.

1 I do remember doing what you say several times on Saturday under Apple tutelage. It wasn't adequate and we had to do something under some special mode that you get pressing ctrl r. I do remember having to shut down in order that the password becomes definitive, so I know that was done.

Now going into Users And Groups I saw a possible cause of problem. It was not set up to allow changes, but I changed it to allow them. In the course of doing this I saw that this part of the system recognised the new password I had given Saturday to my admin account. So I did not change it. But it told me at some point that changing a password does not change it on the login keychain. For that I have to go to Utilities. So I went there and I found a thing called keychain which has a lot of stuff in it, but it is an absolutely not evident to me what I have to do to register a new password there. Also it is a bit incredible because I have changed a password before and I don't remember anything like this. Now I thought maybe, (I am realising things all the time) that that was because I authorised myself to change a password on that account, my daily use account, via Apple id?? I think.

My ornery acct. for daily use when I go to change pw gives me
Would you like to change the password for “My name in full”, or begin using your iCloud password to log in and unlock this Mac?
You will only need to remember one password if you use your iCloud password to log in to this Mac.

But when I go to my Admin acct it doesn’t give me this option.

It’s a bit crazy. The Mac and I know my password, but I can’t use it as a Password.

And I don’t want to "use your iCloud password to log in to this Mac.”. Because my iCloud pw is complicated for security, I can afford that for occasional use, but for my standard acct. I log into a dozen times a day I use a simple one.

I need the admin acct. for installing, so I was told..

Please advise how to access my admin acct.

2 I have done now a lot of messing around with the printer. From what you say it sounds better to scrub it from my system and start from the link you give, OK?. Though only when my admin pw works. There is now probably stuff in the printer's software as well as the computer's . Anyway how do I clean my system of these first attempts?

 

[evennewerbie]

Update:
well first problem is the admin account that I have been unable to log into. I spent more than two hours on the phone to Apple on Saturday, and finally we seem to have made it work. Then when I tried to login on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday it didn't. Spent another two hours today just now with Apple on the phone. It looks like the source of the problem has been traced with some inspiration of my own. Keyboards!

As I mentioned, the Mac is a step back with respect to the iPad in not letting you see the password you're typing, Nor can you paste them in. Two steps back. And it looks like when I am changing passwords it understands a different keyboard than the one I use. I'm set up to receive all info in English but have an Italian keyboard. I've given myself a new password that should be the same on all keyboards. So hopefully now I can be an administrator that can download and install HP printer software.

I found out how to delete apps dragging them into trash. But I am hesitating very much to do that, and because so far as I can see all my HP devices, which includes two printers, one of them here and one somewhere else, are in the same app (and were hell to set up) and I was unable to drag just one of them, but would have to delete the whole lot.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Sorry this is a continuing issue.

Do you happen to have an actual Apple Store near you that you could visit? They may be able to diagnose and correct the issue in person if they can see what exactly is happening.

C

 

[evennewerbie]

Apple has already 'solved' this twice!. At least about three hours ago I was able to logout and then login again twice into admin with my new password. But so was I last Saturday.

It is now more urgent for me to install the printer, which I've had now uselessly for a week. Then admin login which is needed once in a blue moon can be treated at leisure. So I intend to not switch the computer off tonight (it's now late at night here) so hopefully it won't lose things like seems to happen when I switch off. I'll try this installation tomorrow.

Since you said there can be issues otherwise, I want to download from the site you gave which as being more Apple compatible - you said there might be issues otherwise. It seems to me it must be best to scrub what I have done so far. Only please see my last post, I don't know how to do this without scrubbing also the "good' HP programmes already installed and that work. I would welcome your advice or opinion.

 

[evennewerbie]

OK don't bother, I have solved this now and will be back to explain.

 

[evennewerbie]

The two problems, the non-connection of computer with printer, and being able to login to my admin account necessary for that were solved.

For the printer connection you were absolutely right, and HP confirmed it, you need to use a specific download for Mac, not the general HP one. I don't think this is in the four short pages of Getting Started manual that comes with the printer. However when I phoned HP help they could not have been more helpful, and sorted it in the quarter of an hour, practically setting it up themselves via online screen sharing.

And afterwards without any further engineering it was easy and immediate to be able to print also from my iPad. If only all computer stuff went like that! Since then, two or 3 times I got a message Print (something) is trying to access your settings, and the mask to input my UN and password comes up, and I allow it.

It took me another two hours on the phone with Apple to sort out the password and admin account access problem. It was indeed the keyboard. It was baffling, to them too, I got them to spell out just where each letter was on the English keyboard, and that didn't work. Nor when I was changing the password again. It was like half the system was working because when I changed the password I changed the hint - and I could see that it had been changed yet it did not accept the password. I think they made a mistake in what they told me about key locations. Or else there is more than one English keyboard. I made it work now by creating a password using letters that are probably the same on every keyboard.

I wouldn't have wasted all this time if the Mac didn't have this silly system where you can't see the password you're typing, nor can you paste one in. Surely this is making unnecessary difficulty especially considering people must be inventing more and more complicated passwords now for security?

Now I have started using the scanner, and will try and ask your advice about that...