windows icon

sourmash

Registered
I just installed windows xp on my mac and it placed a harddrive icon on my desktop.It also placed the same icon on the desktop of the other account I have set up on my computer which is for my children.I want to remove the icon from the other account which is not an administrative account but I could not just move it to the trash I have to eject it and it asked for my administrative password.I was wondering if I did this would it just remove windows from my childrens account or would it be removed from the entire computer.
 
You are running into the Unix security backbone of OS X. You have to think of each User account almost separate from each other. When you click on the startup drive icon and it shows you the Main level of the file system. This is where the main Applications folder is so EVERY User has access to the installed Applications. Then at the bottom of the main finder window is the folder /Users/. Then it shows the folder of each User that is installed on the Mac. Then when you go into your User folder it looks ALMOST like the main Finder window. This is the User set of folders for them ONLY.

So imagine you wanted to install Sliverlight in Your User account ONLY and not for all your kids that have their own User account. So you would install the Sliverlight plugin is /YourHardDrive/Users/YourUserName/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/. This only YOU can use that plugin and no other account on that Mac could.

The Mac asked for your Administrator password because anyone on that Mac can get to that folder but ONLY the Administrator can make changes the files.

So when you went into another User account the Unix level said you are not the owner of that file and only the User or an Administrator can make change to the file.

OS X is NOT windows so you have to think a little different than you old Windows file system.

To see the level of security on a folder/file just highlight the file/folder and do a "Get Info" (command button+i). A pop-up will come up to show the file attributes of the highlighted system.

So to tie this all up is if the Windows icon is in the Main level folder then everyone can see it but if the windows icon is in a User level Library then ONLY that User will see it.
 
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