Mac OS X 10.5: Keychain cannot be found message after upgrade install
Symptoms
When an application attempts to access the keychain for the first time in Mac OS X 10.5, a password prompt appears. Even if a correct password is entered and the "Remember this password in my keychain" checkbox is selected, this alert may appear:
Keychain "name" cannot be found to store "sampleitem"
Your keychain may have been renamed, deleted, or it's on a unmounted volume.
You can then click Cancel or Reset To Defaults. The alert may appear again.
If Reset To Defaults is clicked two times, a new, empty keychain will be created. Previously-stored passwords will not be present in the new keychain, but this issue should no longer occur.
Products Affected
Mac OS X 10.5
Resolution
To recover the original keychain with the former passwords, follow these steps:
If you have not clicked Reset To Defaults yet
- Go to ~/Library/Preferences/
- Delete the "com.apple.security.plist" file
If you have clicked Reset To Defaults one time
- Go to ~/Library/Keychains/
- Rename the "login_renamed1.keychain" file to "login.keychain"
If you have clicked Reset To Defaults twice
- Go to ~/Library/Keychains/
- Delete login.keychain
- Rename the "login_renamed1.keychain" file to "login.keychain"
Additional Information
This can happen with keychains originally created in Mac OS X 10.2.8 or earlier.