Changing permissions on folders while logged in as someone else.

A

aluminum

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So, I have a new HD I added and have partitioned it and have installed OSX 10.2 on to it. Now I need to move files from the old install of OSX on the other HD. Of course, all of the folders/files are locked since I am not logged into that install.

How do I move those files? Is there a command that would allow me to simply enter my SU pwd so that I can access them, or is that impossible unless I first boot from the old drive first?

I did the APPLE-I thing, but I can't change permissions...just groups/users.
 
look into Carbon Copy Cloner. easiest way to transfer files and system. just be sure to read the instructions. it's not entirely intuitive.
 
So...there's no default way to do this in OSX? This seems like a major omission to the OS, doesn't it?

Off to check out CCC...
 
Well, I checked out CCC. That's not going to work. It looks like a great disk mirroring utility, but I jsut want to move some various folders on different drives around to other drives and be able to re-assign permissions.

Frustating that something so easy in OS9 is now so complex. Ugh.
 
you don't have to copy everything with CCC. you can selectively copy just the files you want. simply delete the unwanted files from the copy list. be sure to preserve permissions if copying system files. good idea to repair them before starting as well.

i'm not sure i'm following exactly what you're looing for but one thing is that you're not going to change any permissions without an admin account and password. if you are just a user, you're out of luck.
 
Enable Root and you can do this and anything else you want.

1. Open the NetInfo Manager application in the /Applications/Utilities folder.

2. Go to the Domain menu, then drag down to the Security submenu, and choose "Authenticate...". Put in an administrator login and password and press return or the "OK" button.

3. Go again to the Domain menu, again to the Security submenu, and then drag down to the "Enable Root User..." menu item.

4. You probably won't have put in a root user password yet. It will prompt you to provide a root user password and verify it. Do so.

5. Root user is now enabled. Now just logout from the Apple menu, and then at the login screen, use the login name "root" and provide the password you just set.

This will log you in as the root user. Note that you can do ANYTHING when logged in as root, including deleting essential files. Proceed with caution.
 
If you're not logged in as an admin user but you know an admin password, you can enter that user's short name and password and change permissions, move files, etc.
 
you don't have to copy everything with CCC. you can selectively copy just the files you want.
Click to expand...

From what I can tell, I can only select from root-level directories, not sub-directories or individual files. It also doesn't look like I can move the files from one drive onto another differently-structure drive (ie it mirrors...not moves/copies files).

i'm not sure i'm following exactly what you're looing for but one thing is that you're not going to change any permissions without an admin account and password.
Click to expand...


I have the admin account and password. I know what it is (they are my files, afterall). What I want is to be able to access those files when logged in as someone else.

And now I see that Bob has answered that questions.

BTW, did anyon ever tell you two (Bob and Ed) that you look a lot a like with those long beards ? You could start a ZZ-Top tribute band. ;o)

And, both of you, thanks for the help!

bob...the Root level user is probably what I want to do. Far from ideal, though, in the eyes of Apple, IMHO. Apple needs to remain a usable OS for average people. It needs to hide Unix constructs like this from average users.

Arden: What you describe is what I think I want to do. Where do I enter that person's short name? Or are you saying I need to log out and then back in as that user? If so, how do I change the permissions to another person that logs in via a different install of OSX?
 
To clarify, I'm booting in to a new install of OSX and want to move files that exist on a different install of OSX on a different partition.
 
I enabled root a long time ago. Saves time and no one else use my machines.

Ed's my old man :)
 
You should see a little lock when you get info on a file and view the permission settings. Click it, enter your shortname (as in jsmith, aluminum, or whatever your owner account is called) and your password.

BTW: While once friends, Gandalf and Saurumon don't like each other anymore. So the ZZ Top thing probably won't happen. ;)
 
Originally posted by aluminum
So...there's no default way to do this in OSX? This seems like a major omission to the OS, doesn't it?
Click to expand...

Well, in the OS 9 sense, yes, it seems a bit awkward. But I think Apple got us thinking one way about multiple users, a la OS 9, then switched to a different, more true multiple user scenario with OS X. You wouldn't want to have someone be able to, say, boot your machine with a firewire drive and then copy a bunch of your stuff off the internet hard drive, would you? I don't know the exact reason why you can't do that, but it's security-related. It's meant to keep your stuff to you and others' stuff to them, no matter how you boot the system (short of booting into OS 9, but that's why Apple killed it, right?)

Good luck!
 
I completely agree that the user restrictions is a good thing. I'm just frustrated that there isn't a simple way to temporarily override the locked file by entering in the username and password for it.

I think my problem is that I'm trying to modify files that are not only not owned by the current logged-in owner, but are actually part of a completely different install of OSX. The new OSX system I am booting from really has no idea what these users on the older system are, does it?

As for the root user account, will that allow me to modify directories that were created by different users in a different install of OSX?

Also, I assume enabling root introduces some other security concerns?
 
Enabling root would allow you to copy, rename, delete and modify just about any file in the system -- and that in itself is the security risk. Enabling root allows you to do just about anything, including removing vital system files that could render your OS X installation unstable, or worse, unbootable.

My suggestion: enable root access, copy what you need, and then turn root access back off. Copy what you need short of applications and what-not -- I would suggest reinstalling any applications you use from the CDs or installer files just to make sure that all associated files for that app are in the right place.
 
Enabling root is a security issue if there are other people who use your computer. You know the million monkeys hypothesis, where if you stuck a million monkeys in a room with a million typewriters for a million years they'd eventually reproduce the complete works of Shakespeare? Well, give a 2-year-old root access for 30 minutes and you may be using some of Shakespeare's more colorful language on him. So be very careful with root access.

You can, however, modify any user directories you like (or any directories, for that matter) with root access enabled. So, yeah.
 
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