[HOWTO] Read Permission Repair Logs

[Amie]

There seems to be concern over the Disk Utility "Repair Permissions" message log. Several people have complained and went to painstaking efforts to correct problems based on these permission messages ... when there were, in fact, no problems at all! So, put your mind at ease, folks. Here are a few of the messages that are causing unnecessary concern:

LOG: "...we are using special permissions..."
REASON: The most common element of the above is "Library/ColorSync." Ignore any message with the above phrase--these permissions are "special" (hence the text) and refer to non-permission files/folders. Not to fret over!

LOG: "...new uid is 1..."
REASON: Again, this is perfectly normal and safe to ignore.

LOG: "...33612..."
REASON: The above number is always safe to ignore, regardless of what it pertains to.

I just wanted to share this information with all of my fellow (and fellowette!) Mac users. I hope this helps to quell any paranoia and/or concern.

[kirktalon]

All I know is no matter how many times I repair permissions after the first time (i.e. when I haven't done it in a while), it's always repairing the same thing(s).

What I would be more comfortable with is it saying "Permissions already repaired"
after the first or second (10th?) run through.
If someone could explain this or show me where it is explained I'd appreciate it.

[Amie]

Originally Posted by kirktalon

All I know is no matter how many times I repair permissions after the first time (i.e. when I haven't done it in a while), it's always repairing the same thing(s).

What I would be more comfortable with is it saying "Permissions already repaired"
after the first or second (10th?) run through.
If someone could explain this or show me where it is explained I'd appreciate it.

Don't bother with repairing permissions over and over again. You will see the SAME messages every time (unless there's something wrong with your computer--then you will see a "wrong permissions" or "error" message. I agree, it would be more assuring to see "All permissions correct" or "Permissions already repaired" or something of that nature, but until (if) it's changed, we'll have to deal with it. Just rest assured that seeing those same permissions messages does not indicate a problem.

[jennesois]

Thank You, AMIE!

[Amie]

Originally Posted by jennesois

Thank You, AMIE!

You're quite welcome.