"Logging in failed because an error occurred"

crunchies · 09-21-2009, 07:37 PM

I renamed my administrator account's user directory on my Mac, which is running OS X 10.5. Since then, I have not been able to log into the system. At the login screen, it says that "logging in to the account failed because an error occurred".

I did some digging around and found this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1876?viewlocale=en_US

However, it requires you to have access to the Finder, which I don't have since I restarted the computer.

Anyone else made this mistake, and if so, how did you fix it?

sinclair_tm · 09-21-2009, 10:30 PM

Never change the user name, just make a new account. Short of maybe mounting your hard drive on a different Mac, there isn't much you can do except reinstall the OS.

crunchies · 09-22-2009, 01:37 AM

Actually, fixed it using the terminal. Thanks, but no thanks.

sinclair_tm · 09-22-2009, 09:54 AM

How did you get to the terminal if you couldn't get o the Finder? If you found a solution, post it so that others who run into this same issue can solve it.

09-21-2009, 07:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
crunchies Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Mac OS 10.5	Renaming home directory on mac - how do you fix? I renamed my administrator account's user directory on my Mac, which is running OS X 10.5. Since then, I have not been able to log into the system. At the login screen, it says that "logging in to the account failed because an error occurred". I did some digging around and found this: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1876?viewlocale=en_US However, it requires you to have access to the Finder, which I don't have since I restarted the computer. Anyone else made this mistake, and if so, how did you fix it? Last edited by crunchies; 09-21-2009 at 07:47 PM.

09-22-2009, 01:37 AM	#3 (permalink)
crunchies Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Mac OS 10.5	Re: "Logging in failed because an error occurred" Actually, fixed it using the terminal. Thanks, but no thanks.