May this stump the best of you!
- Thread starter tkdragon
- Start date
Numbers1820
IXOYS
Cheryl and Doug, let me make sure I understand your info/advice:
Doug, I just did a Get Info on my HD, and sure enough, "System" was identified as the owner. Is that the "default" owner, or does it just look like that after a major install (of the OS or an app?)?
Cheryl, I clicked open the lock in the Get Info box (the same one I opened for Doug, above), and changed the owner from "System" to "Me". Is that what you mean by "running permissions"? How often should I do this? Or are you referring only to what Disk Utility's "Repair Permissions" does?
Backing up a bit here, Software Update is a wonderful tool, and so are things like Cocktail and MacJanitor (the latter of which, yes, I use at frequent and regular intervals), but it seems that there are many maintenance tasks or diagnostic/basic repair tasks that are easily overlooked: resetting PRAM, "running permissions", the CUDA key combo another contributor mentioned. It's a bit confusing to remember all these things when you run into trouble and are looking for, naturally, the quickest fix around your problem. Am I simply being lazy not having all this stuff in mind, or is there a 'one-stop-shop' (besides this forum?) that seems to rattle off all these potential factors in one document/resource/tool?
Doug, I just did a Get Info on my HD, and sure enough, "System" was identified as the owner. Is that the "default" owner, or does it just look like that after a major install (of the OS or an app?)?
Cheryl, I clicked open the lock in the Get Info box (the same one I opened for Doug, above), and changed the owner from "System" to "Me". Is that what you mean by "running permissions"? How often should I do this? Or are you referring only to what Disk Utility's "Repair Permissions" does?
Backing up a bit here, Software Update is a wonderful tool, and so are things like Cocktail and MacJanitor (the latter of which, yes, I use at frequent and regular intervals), but it seems that there are many maintenance tasks or diagnostic/basic repair tasks that are easily overlooked: resetting PRAM, "running permissions", the CUDA key combo another contributor mentioned. It's a bit confusing to remember all these things when you run into trouble and are looking for, naturally, the quickest fix around your problem. Am I simply being lazy not having all this stuff in mind, or is there a 'one-stop-shop' (besides this forum?) that seems to rattle off all these potential factors in one document/resource/tool?
ex2bot
Registered Bot
Sorry Numbers1820, I guess I did a good job of adding to your confusion.
For your reference, my machines' hard drive icons have the following information under Get Info:
Ownership and Permissions -- You can read and write
(Under details: )
Owner -- System <--**
Access -- Read & Write
Group -- Admin
Access -- Read & Write
Others -- Read Only
----
As for "repairing permissions" and understanding Unix-style permissions, refer to a good reference book on OS X, such as David Pogue's _Mac OS X: The Missing Manual_ published By O'Reilly.
As Fryke wrote, BE CAREFUL when changing permissions, when thinking about deleting strange files, when running disk utilities such as TechTool and DiskWarrior. Bad things can happen on any computer system.
As for periodic maintenance, different people will have different opinions. Here are mine.
--It may be helpful to run MacJanitor once every month or two if your machine is not on overnight. It's been around awhile and I haven't heard of any problems with it. Still, it's probably a waste of time to run it more than once or twice a month.
--"Repairing permissions" periodically **using Disk Utility** in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder may be helpful. Not once a day. Not twice a week. Nothing like that.
--It may be a good idea to have a diagnostic disk utility such as DiskWarrior or TechTool Pro for emergencies. **Make sure** you read the directions very carefully, keep two sets of backups of your important files (pictures, documents, movies, etc.), keep up with updates to the programs, and understand the risks of data loss.
--Make sure you keep at leat 1.5 gigs free on your drive (my number, others may not agree). OS X needs free hard drive space to operate appropriately.
--Be careful what you download and install. There are a bunch of lousy, potentially harmful (because they're buggy) programs out there. Some even interfere with system updates.
Sometimes people go a bit overboard with these maintenance tasks. Once every month or three is probably more than enough.
For your reference, my machines' hard drive icons have the following information under Get Info:
Ownership and Permissions -- You can read and write
(Under details: )
Owner -- System <--**
Access -- Read & Write
Group -- Admin
Access -- Read & Write
Others -- Read Only
----
As for "repairing permissions" and understanding Unix-style permissions, refer to a good reference book on OS X, such as David Pogue's _Mac OS X: The Missing Manual_ published By O'Reilly.
As Fryke wrote, BE CAREFUL when changing permissions, when thinking about deleting strange files, when running disk utilities such as TechTool and DiskWarrior. Bad things can happen on any computer system.
As for periodic maintenance, different people will have different opinions. Here are mine.
--It may be helpful to run MacJanitor once every month or two if your machine is not on overnight. It's been around awhile and I haven't heard of any problems with it. Still, it's probably a waste of time to run it more than once or twice a month.
--"Repairing permissions" periodically **using Disk Utility** in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder may be helpful. Not once a day. Not twice a week. Nothing like that.
--It may be a good idea to have a diagnostic disk utility such as DiskWarrior or TechTool Pro for emergencies. **Make sure** you read the directions very carefully, keep two sets of backups of your important files (pictures, documents, movies, etc.), keep up with updates to the programs, and understand the risks of data loss.
--Make sure you keep at leat 1.5 gigs free on your drive (my number, others may not agree). OS X needs free hard drive space to operate appropriately.
--Be careful what you download and install. There are a bunch of lousy, potentially harmful (because they're buggy) programs out there. Some even interfere with system updates.
Sometimes people go a bit overboard with these maintenance tasks. Once every month or three is probably more than enough.
Repairing permissions (using Disk Utility) should be done after a major update install. What it does is recognize you as the Admin and allow you to install. Other routine maintenance - Once every three months is fine. Drive 10 or Disk Warrior.
You should be the owner of your home folder, system should be the owner of the hard drive. I have mine unlocked. That is so I can move files without the message that I am not the owner. BUT... (Don't do this at home message coming)... you must know what you are moving and what will happen when you move that file. If you are unsure, do not touch it. You may be spending time reinstalling the OS.
You should be the owner of your home folder, system should be the owner of the hard drive. I have mine unlocked. That is so I can move files without the message that I am not the owner. BUT... (Don't do this at home message coming)... you must know what you are moving and what will happen when you move that file. If you are unsure, do not touch it. You may be spending time reinstalling the OS.
Numbers1820
IXOYS
Cheryl said:
Thanks for the further advice, Cheryl.
Get Info for my Home folder is now [me]. I think I'm fine in this regard.