Signing In, Logging Out

12.6. Signing In, Logging Out Once somebody has set up your account, heres what its like getting into, and out of, a Mac OS X machine
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Signing In, Logging Out12.6. Signing In, Logging OutOnce somebody has set up your account, heres what its like getting into, and out of, aMac OS X machine. (For the purposes of this discussion, you are no longer theadministrator—youre one of the students, employees, or family members for whom anaccount has been set up.)12.6.1. Identifying YourselfWhen you first turn on the Mac—or when the person who last used this computerchooses Log Out—the login screen shown in Figure 12-1 appears. At this point,you can proceed in any of several ways: • Restart. Click if you need to restart the Mac for some reason. (The Restart and Shut Down buttons dont appear here if the administrator has chosen to hide them as a security precaution; see Section 12.5.) • Shut Down. Click if youre done for the day, or if sudden panic about the complexity of user accounts makes you want to run away. The computer turns off. • Log In. To sign in, click your account name in the list. If youre a keyboard speed freak, you can also type the first letter or two—or press the up or down arrow keys—until your name is highlighted. Then press Return or Enter. Either way, the password box appears now (if a password is required). If you accidentally click the wrong persons name on the first screen, you can click Back. Otherwise, type your password, and then press Enter (or click Log In). You can try as many times as you want to type the password. With each incorrect guess, the entire dialog box shudders violently from side to side, as though shaking its head No. If you try unsuccessfully three times, your hint appears—if youve set one up. (If you see a strange icon in the password box, guess what? Youve got your Caps Lock key on, and the Mac thinks youre typing an all- capitals password.)Tip: So what happens if you forget your password, and even the Macs administratordoesnt know it? On your third attempt to type the password correctly, the Mac showsyou your password hint (unless the administrator has turned off the Hint option) and abutton called Reset Password. When you click it, the Mac asks for the master password(Section 12.9.2), which the administrator almost certainly knows.Once thats typed in,youre allowed to make up a new password for your own account (and, presumably, abetter hint this time). No harm done.Once youre in, the world of the Mac looks just the way you left it (or the way anadministrator set it up for you). Everything in your Home folder, all your email andbookmarks, your desktop picture and Dock settings—all of it is unique to you. YourHome folder even contains its own Library folder, which maintains a separate(additional) set of fonts and preference settings just for you. Your Applications foldermay even have programs that other account holders dont see. INFREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION The Case of the Forgotten Password Help—I forgot my password! And I never told it to anybody, so even the administrator cant help me! No problem. Your administrator can simply open up System Preferences, click Accounts, click the name of the person who forgot the password, and then click Reset Password to re-establish the password. But you dont understand. I am the administrator! And Im the only account! Aha—thats a different story. All right, no big deal. At the login screen, type a gibberish password three times. On the last attempt, the Mac will offer you the chance to reset the password. All you have to do is type in your master password (Section 12.9.2) to prove your credentials. Um—I never set up a master password. All right then. Thats actually good news, because it means you didnt turn on FileVault. (If you had, and youd also forgotten the master password, your account would now be locked away forever.) Insert the Mac OS X DVD. Restart the Mac while pressing down the letter C key, which starts up the Mac from the DVD and launches the Mac OS X installer. On the first installer screen, choose Installer Reset Password. When the Reset Password screen appears, click the hard drive that contains Mac OS X. From the first pop-up menu, choose the name of your account. Now make up a new password and type it into both boxes. Click Save, close the window, click the installer, and restart. And next time, be more careful! Write down your password on a Post-it note and affix it to your monitor. (Joke—thats a joke!)Unless youre an administrator, youre not allowed to install any new programs (orindeed, to put anything at all) into the Applications folder. That folder, after all, is acentral software repository for everybody who uses the Mac, and the Mac forbidseveryday account holder ...