Problem with OSX Sierra 10.12.6 in 2011 iMac

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Echosyn618

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A Documents folder named Plants with numerous photos in guest user Echosyn suddenly disappeared. The Admin (owner) user which I assume is also Root is Jerry. I downloaded EaseUs Data recovery to look for the folder with no luck . BUT I found in a Cameras drop down list under Canon Sure Shot 230 all of the photos that I took with that camera but I was denied access even though I authenticated with my Admin name and password. An experiment showed that I was denied access to everything. So I spent hours on the web studying repair permissions over several iterations of OSX and saw that Apple repeatedly changed the rules over time. I finally found the correct instructions for Sierra and tried that in Terminal and it said that permissions were successfully reset. But that did not help me access in user Echosyn. Help will be much appreciated. Thank you
 
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SIP (System Integrity Protection) can keep you from getting access for certain kinds of folders and files.
SIP is a major factor in why the old "Repair Permissions" is not really relevant now.
You might try disabling SIP, then check to see if you have access to that Echosyn user folder.

BUT, you did say that is a "guest user" (?)
If that is correct, and you were using a guest user account for those files, you may be out of luck. When you make changes or save files to the guest account folder, then log out from that guest user, then any changes or saved files are deleted. That's how a guest user account works.
That is no surprise that a folder in a guest account disappeared. It is supposed to automatically delete all files created and left in the guest user account. The delete happens as soon as you log out of the guest user.
I hope that you simply meant that account was used for temporary storage of files, and you were not actually logged in to a guest user account that the system set up as a guest user account.

One other clarification: An admin user account is NOT the root user. You can easily enable the root user, if you need to do that, but the root, or super user, should not ordinarily be left enabled on your Mac (the superuser doesn't need a password to do just about anything, maybe even delete your whole system while you are using it. SIP should mostly prevent even the superuser from doing stupid things, but enabling the root/superuser is not something that you should do without a really good reason.
 
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DeltaMac said:
SIP (System Integrity Protection) can keep you from getting access for certain kinds of folders and files.
SIP is a major factor in why the old "Repair Permissions" is not really relevant now.
You might try disabling SIP, then check to see if you have access to that Echosyn user folder.

BUT, you did say that is a "guest user" (?)
If that is correct, and you were using a guest user account for those files, you may be out of luck. When you make changes or save files to the guest account folder, then log out from that guest user, then any changes or saved files are deleted. That's how a guest user account works.
That is no surprise that a folder in a guest account disappeared. It is supposed to automatically delete all files created and left in the guest user account. The delete happens as soon as you log out of the guest user.
I hope that you simply meant that account was used for temporary storage of files, and you were not actually logged in to a guest user account that the system set up as a guest user account.

One other clarification: An admin user account is NOT the root user. You can easily enable the root user, if you need to do that, but the root, or super user, should not ordinarily be left enabled on your Mac (the superuser doesn't need a password to do just about anything, maybe even delete your whole system while you are using it. SIP should mostly prevent even the superuser from doing stupid things, but enabling the root/superuser is not something that you should do without a really good reason.
Click to expand...
 
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Thank you. My error in saying Guest User. No one else ever uses my computer. I do not know the proper term for a second regular user that is in addition to Admin aka owner. I have used user #2 Echosyn for the majority of work in the Internet thinking that it is safer against attacks than using Owner aka Admin when out in the Internet. Lacking adequate books on computer use, I learn on the fly by the eat of my pants. The Mac For Dummies book series has been dumbed down and streamlined to the extent that they are useless. I read several articles at sites about enabling Root user but none of them were correct for Sierra. If I were to enable Root I do not know how to use it for this task. I saw in passing a reference to SIP but there was no instruction in that article. Yes I agree that enabling Root is reserved for the practiced experts. My 74 year old hands have been ravaged by time with major nerve damage from lacerations and Carpal Tunnel release surgery. I have used terminal a few times very cautiously when I could not avoid it. In retrospect I think there is a possibility that I might have inadvertently put the folder in Trash instead of back in the Dock above Downloads which is just above trash at the bottom of the left hand Dock column. 3 days ago I was clearing and filing desktop items and had Plants folder on the desktop and putting more photos into it then I moved it to its place above Downloads as usual, or so I thought. I always empty trash when I complete the tidy up. If I mistakenly put Plants folder in Trash am I royally screwed? As I said above, I saw the missing photos in the Canon PowerShot 230 folder in the Camera drop down list in Library.
 
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This is my first time to use this type of forum. I will get used to it. I printed the SIP instructions for disable and re-enable but I don't have a clue how to use it to search for the Plants folder. I tried finder and it showed all folders in Documents category except Plants. 7 PM now. I backed of from the problem and assessed the facts and solutions that I have gathered. Then I saw saw a tired old fart still learning to fly an Apple after 13 years of Mac OSX surfing the Internet. So I went back into EaseUs and printed "5 Ways: How To Recover Deleted Photos On Mac". Step 4 made my more sensible self slap this tired old fart upside the head. ;) Its been a long time since I entered Time Machine but I regularly do Disk Utility on it. Will do it and report back. Notification is turned on.
 
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Update: Time machine brought out and restored the entire Plants folder which was updated December 23. All is well and you are my hero for walking me through this. God :)bless and protect you. I have another bugaboo to solve for a different post.
 
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Glad to hear that you found a solution from your backup. Every once in a while, backups are a Good Thing™

(I am also above the 70-year point. Helping folks on Apple support forums is a hobby of mine.)
I have a comment about getting old (maybe you will relate to it).... I have a terrible memory for names. Why is it that I easily remember the names of all my various doctors/oncologist/urologist/cardiologist/etc, but always have to ask my wife about the last names of some of my closest friends...
 
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DeltaMac said:
Why is it that I easily remember the names of all my various doctors/oncologist/urologist/cardiologist/etc, but always have to ask my wife about the last names of some of my closest friends...
Click to expand...

Because you don't call your doctor by his/her first name as you do your closest friends. Your memory is from what you use the most.
 
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Yeah - you don't know my cardiologist. I have been in his home multiple times, and have shared Christmas gifts with his family.
(Well, OK, I have been his Mac support guy for several years, I call him José. He gifted me a case of fresh grapefruit last year.
Special man!)
But, my closest friend I only call by last name. Might be that there's a problem in his household with first names.
His name is Paul. His wife is Paula, then son is Paul, Jr. - and on to daughters Pam and Patty.

Maybe this is going a long ways from problems with Sierra...:cool:
 
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Ya'll should meet my long time acquaintance Anomic Aphasia. He settled into my brain in 2006 when a lightning bolt from a commercial microwave oven I was repairing coursed through me from left pinkie to right thumb at 2.250 volts @17 amps. I heard pop corn pops in the back of my head. That ended my previous life of fluid conversation because I now have a chronic case of CRN, can't remember nouns. So, when I come here with a computer problem please cut me some slack as I try to explain a matter.
 
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