Mac OS X 10.0, 10.1: Setup Assistant Creates Two Administrative Users - Admin and root

When using Mac OS X Server, the Setup Assistant creates both Admin and root user accounts with the same password. For Mac OS X (client), the root password remains undefined until you enable the root user. In both versions of Mac OS X, subsequent changes to a password only affect the selected user, not both.
Symptom


Solution

Mac OS X uses Admin and root users for different types of administrative functions.

For a discussion of this issue, see:

Article 106361: "Mac OS X 10.0, 10.1: Password Does Not Work as Expected After a Change"
Published Date: Feb 17, 2012