220-1102 Operating Systems Practice Question
A user has forgotten the login password for their macOS workstation. The technician needs to reset the password without reinstalling the operating system and without losing data. Which built-in tool or method should the technician use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse the 'Other' login option with a user creation feature, but it only allows authentication with a different existing account, not account creation from the lock screen.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Boot into Recovery Mode and use the Terminal to run the resetpassword command
MacOS Recovery Mode includes a Terminal utility that provides the `resetpassword` command, which allows a technician to reset a user's password without reinstalling the OS or deleting user data. This tool directly modifies the user account's authentication credentials in the directory services database, preserving all files and settings.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Boot into Recovery Mode and use the Terminal to run the resetpassword command
Why this is correct
Booting into Recovery Mode (Command+R at startup) loads a dedicated recovery environment from the Apple Recovery partition or network-based recovery. From there, opening the Terminal utility and running the `resetpassword` command launches Apple's password reset assistant, which can set a new password for any local user account while preserving the user's home directory files, documents, and application data. This is the only option among the choices that accomplishes password recovery without data loss.
- ✗
Use the macOS installer to perform a clean install
Why it's wrong here
Using the macOS installer to perform a clean install typically involves erasing the target volume during installation, which permanently removes all existing users, applications, and personal files. Even if you run the installer without erasing (upgrade reinstall), that does not allow you to reset the password for the existing local account; it simply reinstalls system files. Therefore, this is an unnecessarily destructive approach and not a valid password-recovery method when preserving data is required.
- ✗
Restart the computer and hold Command+R to launch Disk Utility, then erase the disk
Why it's wrong here
Restarting while holding Command+R enters Recovery Mode, where Disk Utility is available, but Disk Utility's primary functions are erasing, partitioning, and repairing storage volumes. It has no password-reset capability; erasing the startup disk is an irreversible and destructive action that deletes all user data, including the very account whose password you need to reset. After an erase, you would still need to reinstall macOS and could not recover the original account files.
- ✗
Create a new user account from the login screen via the 'Other' option
Why it's wrong here
At the macOS login screen, the 'Other' option only appears when the Mac is configured to join a directory service (such as Active Directory or LDAP) or when the logged-in user has been hidden from the user list. It is a field for entering a network or hidden username and password, not a system feature for creating or resetting local accounts. macOS does not provide any local-user creation from the login window, so this option cannot produce a usable local account.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
macOS System Preferences and Settings
Key term
Terminal
A terminal is a text-based interface that allows users to communicate with a computer's operating system by typing commands.
Key term
Authentication
Authentication is the process of verifying that someone or something is who or what it claims to be before granting access to a system or resource.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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