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We're an Active Directory shop that has mostly PCs, except for a couple Macs that connect via LDAP. One of those Macs I checked out months ago for some software testing. Turned it back in afterwards. Now, several AD/LDAP password changes later I borrowed it from the user that has it checked out. I'm able to complete the initial login as the LDAP connection seems to work, but then it ties up asking me for my keychain login password, which is apparently my LDAP password from generations ago. Of course, I have no clue which generation, and even if I did, I don't remember any of those old passwords anymore...

So, how do I reset the Apple keychain and make this machine happy again?

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    There is not way that I knew of. The default keychain is stored in ~/Library/Keychains and named login.keychain. You can try to run Keychain First Aid in Keychain Access in /Applications/Utilities after making sure in Preferences that all check boxes in the First Aid tab are checked. Other than that, remove it and create a new one if you don't need its contents?
    – Daniel Beck ♦
    Dec 9, 2011 at 19:12
  • @DanielBeck: That should be an answer.
    – surfasb
    Dec 10, 2011 at 1:31
  • @surfasb Thanks, but I never was in that particular situation. Brian doesn't explain how exactly the machine behaves ("ties up"), so I'm not even sure he can run Keychain Access. And whether it'll help in any way is more than questionable. Keychains would be poorly implemented if they allowed this. That leaves deletion, and the user didn't indicate whether he needs the stored entries. This is pretty much a troubleshooting question, and I prefer to comment until a satisfying solution is found instead of editing an answer 5 times because the earlier suggestions turned out to be worthless.
    – Daniel Beck ♦
    Dec 10, 2011 at 7:06
  • I see. Personal preference. I felt it was a worthy suggestion, despite the unknowns that you point out.
    – surfasb
    Dec 10, 2011 at 21:29
  • RE: the getting stuck part. Apparently you just have to hit cancel multiple times to continue.
    – Brian Knoblauch
    Dec 12, 2011 at 14:53

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If you have access to the Mac and can log on as an administrator, then 1) Empty the trash 2) Go to /users/[you]/library and put the entry for keychains in the trash (but don't empty the trash yet. 3) Log out and log back in. The login keychain password should now be the same as the password you used to access the user account. Hope this is of some help. Paul

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    Couldn't you just move or rename ~/Library/Keychains/login.keychain?
    – Lri
    Dec 11, 2011 at 23:39

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