Issue w/Terminal (The administrator has set your shell to an illegal value)

Hiya,
I have an interesting error on my Intel Macbook (running leopard). I was trying to remotely access a CVS repository and in the process of doing so I changed my default shell from sh (or bash) to tcsh (I think I was in super-user mode when I did this).
Anyway, when I try to go su now, I am asked for my password, and when I correctly input it, I get the following error:
su: tcsh: No such file or directory
The command I used before was chsh -s tcsh.
Well the problem kind of progressed - I now am no longer able to open Terminal.app on my user account (only on my root account - if/when I login to OSX as root).
Any ides?

ok, so that kind of worked. I'm now able to use terminal again, but I still can't login as a super user. I still get the same error
I changed it back to bash from tcsh. I didn't realize I was forgetting the /bin. So I followed your instructions and changed it to tcsh, I restarted termianl and tried going su again, and I still get the directory not found error.

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Trying to open Terminal I get;You are not authorised to run this application. The administrator has set your shell to an illegal value.

Hi There Y'all,
I have recently downloaded MacKeeper. It ran OK for a bit, but has recently stopped allowing Internet security updates and switching on of the internet protection options.
Asked for help at MacKeeper. Their initial advice did not work, so a very nice technician was going to remotely attempt to fix the issue.
He however needed/still needs access to Terminal, a to me unbeknown Utility feature of my MacBook pro with Mac OS X 10.6.8.
While attempting to open Terminal the following came up
You are not authorised to run this application.
The administrator has set your shell to an illegal value.
Did do a diskverify permission and repair and restart.
Did check my admin settings in advanced options and have the /bin/bash.
Any advice anyone.
Thanks.
in site out

After finally localing private/etc/shells through Go>Go to folder and replacing the empty shells with the shells~orig I have permission again to open Terminal. Thanks. Another step.
(Why though can't I access /private/etc/... through Finder's search?)
Should work but the file or folder needs to exists to access it. If you typed in /private/etc/shells and the file wasn't there there's no place to access. Certainly /private/etc was there so that would have worked.
So what will happen by inputting the lines
ls -Fvl /bin/bash
ls -Fvl /etc/shells
more /etc/shells
into Terminal?
Basically to find out what you already seemed to find out. The first command was to display owner, group, and permissions of /bin/bash and to tell me whether it still existed.
Similarly for /etc/shells.
And the last command would have just displayed what was in /etc/shells.
By the way /private/etc and /etc are the same folder.

The administrator has set your shell to an illegal value

This morning when I tried to open up the terminal, I got the following error:
You are not authorized to run this application.
The administrator has set your shell to an illegal value
I am the administrator of this machine, and I'm not sure how this happened. Anyone have any ideas how I can get my terminal back to normal?

Since you are unable to use "Terminal.app" at the moment, try launching "System Preferences" > "Accounts", authenticating to "unlock" the settings and control-click your account to select "Advanced Options". The "Login Shell" entry should list your current shell, and allow you to select from a list of acceptable shells.
If everything looks ok there, check your "/private/etc/shells" file to make sure your shell is listed.

When I try to launch terminal, i get an error "You are not authorized to run this applicationThe administrator has set your shell to an illegal value."

When I try to launch terminal, i get an error "You are not authorized to run this applicationThe administrator has set your shell to an illegal value."

If you'd asked a question in your original post it might have solicited more pertinent responses. As it is, you were stating a fact. No one knew whether you considered that fact a problem, or what you were hoping to gain by doing so.
The simple addition of 'can anyone help me fix this so I can run Terminal' would have counted for a lot.
As it is, your solution is likely to require the Terminal, so you're going to need to fix that one way or another. The simplest would be to create a new admin account (System Preferences -> Users & Groups) then log in using that account.
Then try and launch the terminal. If that works the problem is specific to your original account and can likely be fixed via some command-line tweaking. I'd start with:
dscl . read /Users/<username>
(where <username> is the short name of the account having a problem). This will show the records in the directory data for your account, one of which will be UserShell. Chances are that value is invalid, or missing, and can be corrected via:
sudo dscl . -change /Users/<username> UserShell <currentValue> /bin/bash
(where <currentValue) is the current setting for UserShell) which will change the user's shell to /bin/bash (the default).
Of course, you might already know this and already tried, but since you didn't say so in your original post it's worth checking.

Terminal Won't Boot : admin has set your shell to an illegal value

So I went to go use terminal for something simple, and I got this error message, "You are not authorized to run this application. The administrator has set your shell to an illegal value."
Now of course I decided to search the internet with my Google skills to find the answer. And I found out some information about going to my System Preferences > Accounts > Unlock to make changes, & control click admin account to get advanced options, and check what my Login shell was set to, and it is set to "/bin/bash".
But I really don't know where to go from there. I've also tried using Disk Utility to repair my disk permissions several times, and it's made a lot of repairs, although I do notice when it does repairs there's one thing it won't repair.
"Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified and will not be repaired."
Which makes me a little concerned! And it looks like it repaired a "private/etc/ssh-config" which also concerns me, but I have no idea what I'm doing at all in this area.
I could really use some help solving this issue! Thanks! How do I fix this?

I found another thread related to this post, but I'm not making full sense of what the answer is to the question, or in other words how to apply what he did.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2170189
Maybe if someone else takes a look at the post they could make sense of what I'm reading and translate into layman terms what the answer is, or what I should do to fix my problem.
Here's the answer I found in the linked post:
I could not start Terminal and was getting the following error:
"The Administrator has set your shell to an illegal value."
I enabled the root user from the Directory Utility (now hidden in core services but accessible from the User Accounts preference Pane). I logged in a root and looked at my /etc/shells file.
My /etc/shells file was empty
There was a /etc/shells~orig that had the expected shells listed. I copied the contents of /etc/shells~orig into /etc/shells and...
Terminal now runs just fine.
Not sure how this got changed but i'm glad it works again and I hope this post can help someone who runs into a similar problem with their terminal.app

The administrator has set policies to prevent this installation with WINDOWS 8

I am currently trying to delete some programs like Itunes or Oovoo but everytime I try, the message ''the administrator has set policies to prevent this installation'' appears and than it say ''you do not have sufficient access to uninstall please contact
your administrator'' I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
I'm also having issues with the program conduit search I can't uninstall it!
Help me please

Hi,
Did you have tried to disable UAC? How is the result?
If not, try these suggestion:
suggestion one:
==============
please disable the antivirus temporarily to try again.
suggestion two:
=============
a. Click Start, type "Local Security Policy" (without quotes) and press enter.
b. Click on Software Restriction Policies.
c. In the right pane, double click on the "enforcement".
d. Select “All users except local administrators”.
e. Click Ok and restart the computer and check if the issue is fixed.
suggestion three:
===============
a. Browse the registry to HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer
Create: DisableMSI Type: REG_DWORD value = 0 (0 should allow you to install, it was originally 1)
b. Browse to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\
Search the list for the product that is causing the error.. delete the folder in the products folder… this may also
correct your error.
Karen Hu
TechNet Community Support

I keep getting an error message that says "The administrator has set policies to prevent this installation" when I try to install iTunes. I have tried everything on the website.

I keep getting an error message that says "The administrator has set policies to prevent this installation" when I try to install iTunes. I have tried everything on the website. When i try to remove the components of iTunes I get the same message. How can I download iTunes?

Let's try something relatively simple. Download and save a copy of the installer to your hard drive (don't run the install on line and don't start the install just yet):
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Now right-click on the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64Setup.exe) that you downloaded and select "Run as administrator".
Does that go through any better for you?

HT2305 What does windows installer dialog box message "The system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation" when I tried to install airport utility?

Although the following user tip is about iTunes, try the same procedure with an Airport Utility installer. (Downloading and saving an installer to your hard drive and then right-clicking the installer and selecting "Run as Administrator".)
"The administrator has set policies to prevent this installation" error messages when installing iTunes for Windows on Windows Vista and Windows 7 systems

HT1925 Message after removing and trying to reinstall itunes 'The system administrator has set policies preventing this installation'. Can anybody help?

After removing and reinstlling iTunes .....message reads 'the system administrator has set policies preventing this installation'

Try the following user tip:
"The administrator has set policies to prevent this installation" error messages when installing iTunes for Windows on Windows Vista and Windows 7 systems

I am trying to download iTunes on my new desktop computer (Windows 7, 64 bit). It starts installing, and then stops with the message- "The System Administrator has set policies to prevent this installation." I am the sole user- please help.

I am trying to download iTunes on my new desktop computer (Windows 7, 64 bit). It starts installing, and then stops with the message- "The System Administrator has set policies to prevent this installation." This is a stand alone computer and I am the sole user.   Please help.

This is a Microsoft Windows Issue.
From a MS Support Engineer:
"Hi,
·        Is the computer on a domain?
·        Is the issue isolated to only this software or you get the same error message with other software’s as well?
Try the steps below and check if it helps.
Step 1:
Run the software setup file as an administrator and check if it helps.
a. Right click on the setup file of the software that you are trying to install.
b. Select “Run as administrator”.
Step 2:
Temporarily disable the antivirus software running on the computer and check if you are able to install the software.
Disable antivirus software
Warning:
Antivirus software can help protect your computer against viruses and other security threats. In most cases, you shouldn't disable your antivirus software. If you have to temporarily disable it to install other software, you should re-enable it as soon as you're done. If you're connected to the Internet or a network while your antivirus software is disabled, your computer is vulnerable to attacks.
Step 3:
a. Click Start, type "Local Security Policy" (without quotes) and press enter.
b. Click on Software Restriction Policies.
c. In the right pane, double click on the "enforcement".
d. Select “All users except local administrators”.
e. Click Ok and restart the computer and check if the issue is fixed."

Error: the system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation

While trying to sync my husband's new iPad 2 to our computer, I encountered the following problem.
I currently have iTunes 10.1.1.4 installed on my computer but was told to update to the latest version of iTunes 10.2.2.
After trying to do this, I received the following error message: The System Administrator has set policies to prevent this installation.
After contacting Apple, Toshiba and Microsoft and following instructions from each of their tech support agents, I am still not able to uninstall iTunes as they all advised me to do.
The latest error message I receive is: You do not have sufficient access to uninstall iTunes. Please contact your System Administrator.
I am the administrator and am signed in as such. As you can imagine, I am quite frustrated.
A solution to this problem would be greatly appreciated.

I received the following error message: The System Administrator has set policies to prevent this installation.
I'd try something relatively simple first. Download and save a fresh copy of the iTunes installer to your hard drive. (Don't run the install on line and don't start the install just yet.)
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Now right-click the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64Setup.exe) that you downloaded, and select "Run as administrator".
Does that update go through any better?

HT1926 Everytime I try and install iTunes it says "the system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation". does anyone know what this means?

I am using my partners computer. He has iTunes on his laptop but when I went to update iTunes, it said "the system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation". I therefore deleted iTunes altogether thinking to reinstall the original iTunes and then upgrade it (i,e start from scratch) but to know avail. Is this a problem with my laptop itself? Or a problem with the internet settings?
HELP PLEASE!!

Let's try something relatively simple. Download and save a copy of the installer to your hard drive (don't run the install on line and don't start the install just yet):
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Now right-click on the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64Setup.exe) that you downloaded and select "Run as administrator".
Does that go through any better for you?

Im trying to uninstall itunes because the newest version wont download. But when i go to uninstall, it says "The system administrator has set policies to prevent this uninstallation" Whats can i do to uninstall

Im trying to uninstall itunes because the newest version wont download. But when i go to uninstall, it says "The system administrator has set policies to prevent this uninstallation" Whats can i do to uninstall

Windows right?
Likely your not the administor any more, the botnet is.
Check on this site really quick if your part of a botnet
http://botnetchecker.com/
All clear? Hopefully. Backup your files to a external drive, cd or dvd, USB keye etc off your computer.
Run the sfx file on this site and it will burn to a cd.
http://www.avira.com/en/support-download-avira-antivir-rescue-system
Next hit your BIO's key and set the cd to boot first, run the scanner and see what it pops up.
If your all clear then create another Admin, transfer your files over from the first Admin.
See if that works, eventually when your totally over to the new Admin, delete the old one.
If you can't create a new Admin, find out who locked your machine down, like your parents or it's a school computer?
Likely installed spyware or "nanyware" to watch you.
Hope that works.

TS1424 When attempting to download iTunes I keep getting error The system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation. This is home PC and I am administrator. Any help is appreciated.

When attempting to download iTunes I keep getting error The system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation. This is a home PC and I am the administrator. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi PSpark!
I have an article here that I believe will help you troubleshoot this issue a little further. That article can be found right here:
Trouble installing iTunes or QuickTime for Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1926
Thanks for coming to the Apple Support Communities!
Regards,
Braden

I get message saying system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation; when trying to uninstall message says you do not have sufficient access to uninstall itunes please contact your administrator. i am administrator.

when intalling itunes i get message saying system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation; when trying to uninstall message says you do not have sufficient access to uninstall itunes please contact your administrator. i am the dministrator.

Windows right?
Likely your not the administor any more, the botnet is.
Check on this site really quick if your part of a botnet
http://botnetchecker.com/
All clear? Hopefully. Backup your files to a external drive, cd or dvd, USB keye etc off your computer.
Run the sfx file on this site and it will burn to a cd.
http://www.avira.com/en/support-download-avira-antivir-rescue-system
Next hit your BIO's key and set the cd to boot first, run the scanner and see what it pops up.
If your all clear then create another Admin, transfer your files over from the first Admin.
See if that works, eventually when your totally over to the new Admin, delete the old one.
If you can't create a new Admin, find out who locked your machine down, like your parents or it's a school computer?
Likely installed spyware or "nanyware" to watch you.
Hope that works.

Issue w/Terminal (The administrator has set your shell to an illegal value)

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