Lap Cat Software Blog

Warning: Do not attempt if you’re using FileVault. Side effects could include Very Bad Things™ such as losing your entire home directory, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, going to jail, not passing Go, not collecting $200, and ripping a hole in the space-time continuum. Do not attempt while under the influence of narcotics or while operating heavy machinery.

Warning #2: For goodness’ sake, back up your files before attempting. For safety’s sake, make multiple backups of your entire hard drive, and store them off-site, preferably off-planet.

Warning #3: My lawyer has just run away screaming, so I should offer the disclaimer that you proceed at your own risk. I assume no liability for any consequences, which may include but are not limited to lost data, broken marriages, seven years of bad luck, and the Apocalypse.

Given the above warnings, why would anyone in their right mind want to delete the master password from their computer? Answer: they wouldn’t. (My mind is going. I can feel it.) In my case, setting the master password was only an experiment, so I didn’t want to leave it on. Anyway, here’s what you do:

1. Remove FileVaultMaster from the Keychain List in /Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access.app.
2. Move the files FileVaultMaster.cer and FileVaultMaster.keychain in /Library/Keychains/ to the Trash. This requires an administrator password.
3. If you set a password hint for the master password, enter the command below in /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app. This also requires an administrator password.

   sudo defaults delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow MasterPasswordHint

4. Restart. (This may not be necessary, but it won’t hurt.)

This conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 28th, 2006 at 6:43 pm and is filed under Apple. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.