So very sorry :(

I'm very sorry you're going through this; you are in my thoughts.

I have no advice, but damn, I am so sorry and hope your step-brother pulls through. :(

Sorry to hear about that brother...

A couple of things - if he's using Filevault, you're out of luck, that account is locked unless there is a master password you guys know or he has secured somewhere.

If the machine *doesn't* use filevault you can boot from the install CD and change the password on the account, it's pretty trivial to recover it via this method. I am unsure if this will recover access to the keychain, which is where all the data for account logins/etc external to the device is likely stored.

There is one more outlier, if he's using an EFI password, that's another hurdle to cross, it's possibly to bypass the efi's protection, but it involves a few steps and you're better off just cracking the machine and mounting the disk on another mac at that point.

Other folks may have ideas, but if you can get an osx install disk and have the latop and he's just a regular old user type person it should be easy enough to get access to the accounts on the machine.

Sorry dude. Hope he gets better and the rest of you and yours are holding up.

Thanks brother and bunnies. He has worked with Macs in the past in a professional capacity and is very knowledgeable about them so I am thinking he very well may have an EFI password.

I am so sorry to hear this. What has a Google search of his name thrown up? Sometimes even if his FB account is set to privacy, a Google search might show people who have him listed as a friend, and you could send them a message from your own FB account. Of course, this will only work if he has an unusual name.

No EFI password trying to determine if he is using a filevault password.

iamabot has it. That's exactly the right answer.

And yeah, having stood behind that bar, we're supposed to assume you're telling the truth, but also wouldn't touch a computer if we didn't have permission from the owner to do so. So doing this yourself is going to be the best way to do it.

mlis, i am so sorry to hear about your stepbrother--I was hoping things had resolved already in a much better way. Hang in there, friend.

Do you know what his online communities are? And his screenname(s)? Cause if you do, you could always sign up on them and let his friends know that way.

First of all yes, I hope everything ends up OK.

Second iamabot is right, if the files are encrypted you're out of luck but if they're not you don't even need the CD:

http://www.securemac.com/macosxsingleuser.php

At step 4 you can reset the password to anything you like, or if you think there may be encryption you can save it and it may be possible to crack the actual password offline later.

SO sorry, mlis, that is very scary and I'll be thinking of you.

I think Stewriffic's approach may help if you can't get into the computer. If you know what sites he frequented - even just a few of them - and can find a mod or other key person, that person will likely know who to inform and how, and perhaps even where some of his other online activities took place. I'm not sure you need his accounts so much as you need to find those key people who can relay the info.

Good luck. Let us know if we can do anything.

So sorry to hear this Mlis. No advice to offer. Sorry. Just warm thoughts and hoping you're able to make contact with his online friends. It's very thoughtful of you to care about this.

I'm sorry, mlis.

(((mlis)))
You and your brother are in my thoughts.

Thank you everyone for the nice words and suggestions. A kind bunny is helping me resolve the Mac Book Pro issue.

I had started the FB approach last night but that is a good idea, thanks Seynar.

Stew & Miko, good suggestions I am going to attempt to contact the mods of 1 community I am aware of.

I do hope your step-brother gets well. Hugs.

You are in my thoughts mlis. I hope your stepbrother recovers quickly. All my best.

((mlis and step-brother))

(((((mlis)))))

Any chance you're facebook friends? You could ask (some of?) his friends there to get word out, or if you're comfortable writing something on his wall you could just let it make its way from there, although this would almost certainly reach a much wider audience than you want.

Sorry to hear about this, and I hope he pulls through okay.

i hope your step-brother gets better soon. hugs.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and advice. Laptop issue solved thanks to skorgu.

So sorry, mlis.

mlis, I don't know how I missed this. I am so sorry to hear about your step-brother.

mlis, I missed this, too. I'm glad that skorgu's advice solved the tech question. I'm sending good thoughts and wishes your way.

Thanks, rainbaby, LoriFla and Elsa. He is being transferred out of ICU tomorrow and will probably be in the hosp for two more weeks before being moved to a rehab hospital. Much improved and we are hoping for a full recovery!

Much improved and we are hoping for a full recovery!

That's excellent news, mlis --- still sending good thoughts!