Move Users Directory

I'm currently running out of hard disk space and would like to keep the existing internal hard drive intact for software. I've purchased an external drive that I plan to have on when the computer powers on. I called Apple support and they didn't have any solutions to move my Users directory to another volume. They told me it wasn't possible. Their solution to my problem was to just add an external drive and just randomly move data to it whenever my main hard disk gets full. This is messy and a very windows-like solution and will make migrating to a new mac painful. Not very happy I paid for Applecare and found better support from Google, but I digress. I came here for real support.
I've found a number of guides, but none were up to date on this topic and were for 10.5 or earlier. I'm currently running 10.6. I know the main steps but wanted to verify the proper flags for ditto.
1. Setup and format new disk, mount it to /Volumes/newdisk
2. copy data (this is where I get a little confused due to different guides.
ditto -V /Users/username /Volumes/newdisk/Users/username
3. In the system preferences, visit accounts, control + click the username and edit the home directory field with /Volumes/newdisk/Users/username
4. logout / login
Does this sound like a sane solution?
According to the ditto manpage the --rsrcFork has been depreciated to --rsrc and is the default behavior, grabbing all meta-data. The -V flag just verboses everything.
Thanks for your help!

What you plan should work, though as Kappy says CCC would be an easier way to do the copy. However, the reason that Apple support recommended against this is that it makes things needlessly complicated. If you have problems down the line and need assistance, it's almost a guarantee that the first thing you'll hear when you describe your setup is "Oh, try moving your user folder back to the boot drive and see if the problem goes away."
Instead, make a plan as to what data you want to store on the external drive and just move that data there. For example, video, audio and photo files are typically large and can be moved to the external drive without moving the entire user folder. This keeps things simple and allows you to potentially move that hard drive to another computer without compromising the integrity of your iMac, among other potential advantages.

Similar Messages

Move /User directory to external drive

I am trying to move my non-admin user directories over to a firewire-connected external drive because my my main drive is full.
I am able to copy the directory easily enough, and redefine the user path using the Preferences panel, but I cannot get permissions working on the drive. I have tinkered with the "Ignore owners" setting, but that doesn't do anything. Disk Utility keeps reporting "Owners Enabled: No".
I want the same file permissions and security as I had before. i.e. each user account is protected from each other.

Hi and welcome to Discussions-
mac mini, ibook g3, ibook g4, imac Mac OS X (10.5.5)
i moved a users home to a usb drive recently, i did it by going to sysprefs->users->right click username, advanced options and in there, browse to new location.
You are running Leopard and the above method works there, but it doesn't work in Tiger (this is the Tiger forum!).
one word of warning - i did this for my only admin user, all worked fine, then the mac lost power for some reason (never mind why), which meant that the mount point /Volumes/USB was left there, so when it rebooted it mounted my USB on /Volumes/USB-1 which meant it couldn't find my only users home dir, which meant i couldn't log in to fix it. so make sure you have an admin user on the system that uses a local disk (internal) so you can always log in and correct.
This is an important warning for anyone who moves a home directory, no matter what method is used - thanks very much!

Without Migration Assistant, what is recommend method to move user directory from a Mac to local home on SLS?

I need to move a user's home directory contents from an old Mac to a "Home Folder for a Local User" on Snow Leopard Server (SLS). I both the old Mac and an external drive, which was used to make a TimeMachine backup of the old Mac. Since SLS does not have Migration Assistant, what is the recommended method to a user's data to SLS home folders?
BillK

Sorry...not trying to be cryptic, but any of the methods you mentioned for copying would work. Simply mounting the sharepoint and copying the data would work. I didn't mention a specific method, because I wasn't sure what was available to you.
As to the permissions, once the data is copied, if you are moving form one Mac to another, and not using the same existing OD on both, the owner may be the same (depending on the name you use on the accounts) but joesmith on one Mac will not transfer permissions to joesmith on another Mac. So you will need to make sure the owner of all the data is set to the correct user on the new Mac. Using the command line, you could navigate to the home folder and use this command to make the owner of the files the correct user
sudo chown -R nameofuser *
nameofuser would be the name on the account that you want to give ownership to
then sudo chmod -R u=rwx *
to make sure the owner has full access to everything in his/her home folder.
Hope that's more helpful
Jeff

Moving the Users directory

Here are two tutorials explaining how to move your Users folder to a different drive in Windows 8 (very straightforward) and Windows 7 (a bit more difficult). You need two drives or one partitioned drive.
Windows 8 (I did it yesterday, it took 15 minutes, I don't see any difference in terms of performance, and I have now a system drive and a data drive) :
http://www.itnota.com/move-users-directory-to-a-different-drive-in-windows-8/
Windows 7 (not tested) :
http://lifehacker.com/5467758/move-the-users-directory-in-windows-7/
Make sure you have a backup of your current installation before proceeding !
X220t | i7 | 320GB HDD | 8GB RAM | WIN7 PRO
IdeaCenter A520 | i5 | 1 TB HDD | 6GB RAM | WIN8.1
Solved!
Go to Solution.

IMPORTANT UPDATE
Moving the Users directory might stop you from upgrading Windows 8 to 8.1 (the process will fail). If this happens to you, here is what to do.
Please refer to this page (same as above) and repeat steps 2 to 6 to access the command prompt. Then type
C:\Windows\System32>C:
C:\>rmdir Users (this will delete the junction, that is, the link to the Users directory location)
Now, you need to find out which is your Data drive (that you moved your Users directory to).The best way is to type
C:\>dir D:
C:\>dir E:
and so on, until you see your Users directory. Let's say this drive has the letter X.
C:\>robocopy /copyall /mir /xj X:\Users C:\Users
Then reboot, and voilà, the Users directory is back on C: and you are now able to upgrade Windows 8 to WIndows 8.1.
X220t | i7 | 320GB HDD | 8GB RAM | WIN7 PRO
IdeaCenter A520 | i5 | 1 TB HDD | 6GB RAM | WIN8.1

Moving Users Directory to Raid 1

Hi all,
I'm going to install a Raid 1 system with two WD1500KS.
I'd like to put the full existing Users directory onto this Raid 1.
One question about Raid 1 system, is there a Master and a Slave ? What appear on the screen , a disk called Raid 1 and the system manage the distribution or we can see the two drives composing Raid 1 ?
There was discussions about how to move Users directory to another Volume :
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=3225806#3225806
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=3231609&tstart=0
After reading again and again these posts, where Ned, Steve and The Hatter have proposed solutions for this move, I'm lost and thinking as Ned's solution has not yet been deployed, and Steve's one seems easy but could be problematic with some applications according to Ned, I'm still uncertain about what should I do ?
Could you please tell me if Steve's solution :
"For this example, assume that you have a drive called disk2, accessible at /Volumes/disk2. This is more steps than required, but it is a safe way to accomplish the task.
1) Back up your users directory.
2) Create a new users directory on the target disk:
sudo mkdir /Volumes/disk2/Users
3) Set permissions appropriately on new directory:
sudo chown root:admin /Volumes/disk2/Users
4) Copy data from existing Users directory to new Users directory:
sudo cp -Rp /Users/ /Volumes/disk2/Users/
* note: make sure you use the switches shown (-Rp); this does a recursive copy, and duplicates the permissions of the copied files.
* note: make sure you add the trailing backslash!
5) Rename the existing Users directory to be extra paranoid:
sudo mv /Users /UsersBackup
6) Create a symbolic link pointing to the new Users directory:
sudo ln -siv /Volumes/disk2/Users/ /Users
It wouldn't hurt to restart at this point.
Once you are satisfied that everything is present on the new drive, you can delete the extra paranoid backup we made in step 5:
sudo rm -rf /UsersBackup
Enjoy "
is problematic for Users directory or only as The Hatter mentionned for Applications directory :
"Trying to use a symbolic link to relocate /Applications, and especially Apple programs is where there was usually trouble."
Thanks,
Peloche,
MacPro 2.66, 6GB, 1TB; Mini G4, 1.45, 1GB; iPod 60 GB; 30" & 20" ACD; Apple IIC Mac OS X (10.4.8) X1900XT

Done,
Used Ned's and Steve's methods:
1 - Create "Users" directory onto Raid 1 system
2 - Copy all from Volume/Raptor/Users directory to Volume/Raid1/Users/
3 - Activate Root User with Netinfo Manager
4 - Modify all users "Home address" into Net info Manager and save
5 - Reboot, log into my account and "You are unable to log in to the user account" message, even with administrator account.
6 - Reboot onto old OSX partition, wonder what could be the reason ? IMHO it could be only my mistake (Peloche's method), may be typing error within the "Home address", change Raid name from "Raid1" to "Raid 1"
7 - Reboot onto Raptor, log to my account and OK it works
8 - Use "sudo mv /Users /UsersBackup"
9 - Reboot OK
10 - Copy all my "Documents" from "UsersBackup" to another partition
11 - Reboot OK
12 - Use "sudo rm -rf /UsersBackup"
13 - Reboot OK
14 - Thanks to Ned and Steve
Peloche,
MacPro 2.66, 6GB, 1.7TB; Mini G4, 1.45, 1GB;iPod 60 GB; 30" & 20" ACD; Apple IIC Mac OS X (10.4.8) X1900XT

User directory-move does not run.

I moved the user directory to a second hd. Inside the user settings (right-click on the username) i maintained the new path.
OS X confirmed it and shows the standard home icon to the new directory, but every new file or directory will be saved to the old location to /users/username.
From my point of view, here we have a bug.

I didn't change my shortcut.
But after your answer, i switched off and switched on again the shortcuts and now it runs. From my point of view it is a little bit crazy, because the previous OS X versions didn't need such kind of steps.
Thank you for your support ;-)

Brand new MBP and the user directory is corrupt?

hi, i just installd my new MBP and did a sync of my G5 settings (all except bookmarks) added a few things to my desktop and when i rebooted the desktop was cleared and the home directory was missing "Movies" "Music" "Pictures" in the left most column. all that is left is "Applications" and my user home symbol.
i tried to create a new user and when i did so was given a message that the "home" folder could not be located. weird.
anyway. i also installed a canon IP4300 driver. can anyone tell me what may be going on? do i need to erase the drive and do a fresh install?
UPDATE: i see what happened! the User directory somehow got into the Applications folder! no idea how. but i can't seem to get it out. can anyone help me out?
thx
Message was edited by: Frank Jacob

Open the Applications folder and drag the Users folder inside to the top level of the hard disk; you may need to press the Command key when dragging the item and/or provide an administrator username and password. When done, log out and back in. If only the home folder is present in the Applications folder, move it to the Users folder. Rename existing items as needed.
(25013)

How to use External Drive for Users Directory

I just did a clean install on my Mac Mini - I have over 4 TB of storage attached, but the main drive (160 GB) keeps filling up. What is the best way to have the Users directory located on an external drive?
Thanks for your help,
Chris

Think about it for a second. What would happen if that external drive wasn't connected for some reason? Maybe it died the night before, as external drives have a habit of doing. How are you going to log into the system?
If the main drive is filling up, it says that you aren't making effective use of the attached storage. There's nothing saying you have to keep video files in the Movies folder, and music in the Music folder, etc. Find some things, that aren't your user profile, and move them to your external storage. Or consider putting in a larger internal drive.
< Edited by Host >

I have a 2nd gen Mac book air with Lion. The hard disk has filled up even though i keep my data , music etc on hard drive . I used disk inspector to find where problem was and it is 20GB in the hidden files under the user directory can i resolve this ?

I have a 2nd Gen MAc book Air with Lion . The 60GB hard disc has quickly filled up despite me keeping most of my data on a portable hard drive . I used disk inspector to locate the problem but found that it was was in 20 GB of hidden files in my user directory . Is this correct and is there anything i can do about it ? Using disk inspector you can not see individual hudden diretories or files. I did unhide them but there is a mass of diretories etc and so no way i could see if this is one or multiple files using the space. Library System and Applications are at 4 3 and 3 GB respectvely. The data I actually keep on there is 9GB Thanks for any help

I think the problem is Quick Time Player. I am using OS 10.6.8 by the way.
I tried it out again.
I had about 26 GB of space before I played an .avi video.
After the movie started to play (it was slow to load), I got a warning message that my startup disk was full. I opened Disk Utility and it told me I had no space left (about 20 MB or something like that was left).
I watched to the end of the movie.
Then I quit Quicktime Player.
And I shut down the computer.
I turned on the computer and checked Disk Utility. I have about 26 GB of space.
I think for some reason Quicktime Player uses up a lot of the disk space when it runs movies that are problematic. This movie I was watching did not open with vlc.
I normally use vlc to watch movies.
Probably it doesn't use up this much space when the movie is OK.
I think there's a problem with this particular movie. It is about 50 MB so it's not that big a file. I watch .smi subtitles with it. The Quicktime Player automatically loads the subtitle file in this case because the subtitle file has the same name as the movie file.
I watched about 10 movie files from the same series that I downloaded together and did not have any problem watching them. I watched them on vlc. But this latest movie had problems I think (as I repeat). It did not load on vlc even though I waited for a minute, and normally movies load instantly on vlc.
So I think that movie file caused problems. It made QT player use up a lot of hard disk space.
I had better avoid watching that movie in the future. I don't want it to wreck my hard drive.
So to sum up, everything is back to normal. I have the hard disk space that I should have. However, I am scared of damaging my hard drive due to shonky movie files that eat up all the space when they are played using QT player, and so I will not watch those files in the future, as I do not know why the files do that.

Help creating a script to move users in and out of an OU based on a time limit

Here's my scenario: we currently have OUs based on the locations of our facilities, we also have a sub-OU(?) underneath it for users that need a group policy applied to them where whitelist applications allowed to run. From time to time we have need to pull
users out of that sub-OU for a short period of time to let them run applications they normally wouldn't be able to and won't need to run long term. Sometimes we also forget to add these people back into that policy controlled sub-OU because we get busy do
other things. Server is 2008 R2.
Here's what I'm looking for: A script that prompts for the users name, pulls that user out of the sub-OU, puts them in the main OU but only for 24 hours. After that time limit is up, a script/command runs that puts the user back in the policy controlled
sub-OU. I'm thinking a PS script would be the best way to do this.
Research: Looking at these posts here and here I'm
thinking I should be able to Frankenstein something together but I have very limited PS scripting experience.
Can anyone help me create this?

You've probably figured this out, but we're not typically in the business of writing complete solutions for people. With that said, there are projects I find particularly interesting, such as this one, where I am willing to help get someone started if they
are willing to take the time to work through the examples and learn from them.
You have two requests - one is a script that prompts for a user it then moves to a different location in Active Directory. The second request is a way to move them back without manual interaction. This will require an automated task (scheduled task)
that will run at select times during a day.
Here's the first script (1/2): The first two lines set two different variables. The first line sets the $OUPath variable to the SubOU. The second line prompts for a user and, once a user is entered, sets that user to the $User variable. It then runs the
first try-catch, attempting to replace the $User variable with the data returned from the Get-ADUser cmdlet. Notice the use of the -Properties parameter. By default the modified date and the extensionAttributes are not returned. We will be using the modified
date so we can be certain that 24 hours passes before we move them back (see part 2/2). Including extensionAttribute13 will ensure we only move users out of the OU if they were moved in by the script. Note: The modified date on a user in AD is changed when
it is moved from one OU to another. If the user cannot be located in the first try-catch it will say it cannot locate the user in Active Directory. If it can locate it, it will set the $User variable, as described so far, and then move on.
In the second (or, nested) try-catch we split the user's DistingusihedName at the first comma so that we have two parts. We use the second part (that doesn't include their CN) and see if that matches the $OUPath variable. If it does match then that user
has already been moved. If it doesn't match then we 1. Move the user, 2. Replace extensionAttribute13 with the string 'MovedUser,' and 3. Output that the user has been moved.
$OUPath = 'OU=SubOU,OU=MainOU,DC=mydomain,DC=com'
$User = Read-Host -Prompt 'Enter SamAccountName'
try {
$User = Get-ADUser -Identity $User -Properties Modified,extensionAttribute13
try {
If ($User.DistinguishedName.Split(',',2) -eq $OUPath) {
Write-Output -Verbose 'User already moved.'
} Else {
Move-ADObject -Identity $User.DistinguishedName -TargetPath $OUPath
Set-ADUser -Identity $User.SamAccountName -Replace @{extensionAttribute13='MovedUser'}
Write-Output "'$($User.SamAccountName)' has been moved."
catch {
Write-Output "'$($User.SamAccountName)' cannot be moved."
catch {
Write-Output -Verbose "Unable to locate '$User' in Active Directory."
The second script (2/2): Here we also set a couple variables - one is the SubOU's DistinguishedName where we want to return the user and the other is the all of the users from the MainOU. Foreach user in $Users we check if their extensionAttribute13 is set
to 'MovedUser' and if their modified date is greater than or equal (-ge) to 24 hours. If it is, the script will move the user, clear extensionAttribute13, and let us know the user was moved. If for some reason your $OUPath variable is wrong, the script will
run the catch portion of the only try-catch we used in this script. Again, you'll have to schedule Task Scheduler to run this script. Good luck!
$OUPath = 'OU=MainOU,DC=mydomain,DC=com'
$Users = Get-ADUser -Filter * -SearchBase $OUPath -Properties Modified,extensionAttribute13
Foreach ($User in $Users) {
$TimeSince = New-TimeSpan -Start $User.Modified -End (Get-Date)
If ($User.extensionAttribute13 -eq 'MovedUser' -and $TimeSince.Hours -ge 24) {
try {
Move-ADObject -Identity $User.DistinguishedName -TargetPath $OUPath
Set-ADUser -Identity $User.SamAccountName -Clear extensionAttribute13
Write-Output "$($User.SamAccountName) has been moved."
catch {
Write-Output "$($User.SamAccountName) cannot be moved."
} Else {
Write-Output 'No Users to move.'
If you decide to use this, be sure to change the paths you use for the $OUPath variables. Also, if you're using this with PowerShell 2.0, you will need to use the Import-Module cmdlet to import the ActiveDirectory module. In versions above 2.0 it will be
imported automatically if you try to use an AD cmdlet.
Edit: Typo - Get-ADUser property

User Directory services stopped working

Getting this err all the sudden:
The User Directory publishing service reported an error.
https://server:8900/contribute
Error details: End of file or no input:' Operations
interrupted or timed out'
Happens to everyone. using CPS 1.11 with ActiveDirectory. I
had upgrade to new hardware about 2 weeks ago but everything worked
nicely after the move. I did decommision an old DC, but not the one
CPS uses in the admin screens. Does it pick a random DC behind the
scenes and use that all the time?

Tried restarting. No change. In the admin page I can search
and test auth just fine. I installed Contribute on another clean
computer that has never had it before and tried and get the same
problem. I am thinking about reinstalling but I really don't want
to as I have about 20 roles/users to recreate. Or how can I back
the config up so I can restore the user/roles info?

Is it sufficient to just backup the users directory?

I am backing up my macbook to my Buffalo Linkstation Live. Is it ok if I just backup the users directory to save all the images,movies,files etc? It is a bout 40 gig.
I use garageband, iweb and all the ilife programs and assume all these items including my itunes music/backups is in this directory?
I am not concerned about the system files as I can restore them if need be.
Thanks

Welcome to the discussion area!
This is the Time Capsule forum.
Was there a question that you had about a Time Capsule or Time Machine?
If not, please re-post in the correct MacBook forum.

Is it sufficient to just backup users directory in time machine?

I am backing up my macbook to my Buffalo Linkstation Live. Is it ok if I just backup the users directory to save all the images,movies,files etc? It is a bout 40 gig.
I use garageband, iweb and all the ilife programs and assume all these items including my itunes music/backups is in this directory?
I am not concerned about the system files as I can restore them if need be.
Thanks

doobias123 wrote:
I am backing up my macbook to my Buffalo Linkstation Live. Is it ok if I just backup the users directory to save all the images,movies,files etc? It is a bout 40 gig.
I use garageband, iweb and all the ilife programs and assume all these items including my itunes music/backups is in this directory?
The data for those apps is probably there (unless you've moved it), but the apps aren't.
I am not concerned about the system files as I can restore them if need be.
Please reconsider. Strongly consider letting Time Machine back up your entire system. You're only saving a few GBs (10 - 20) by omitting your System and Applications folders, and only on the first backup, because very little changes there, but here's what you'll have to do when (not if) your internal HD fails, or something else awful happens to your Mac:
Install OSX from your Leopard or Snow Leopard Install disc.
Go through the set-up procedure: setup your Internet connection(s), server names, etc.
Download and install the "combo" update, to get back to your current version of OSX.
If you upgraded iLife since purchasing your Mac, find and restore your iLife apps.
Find all the discs for 3rd-party apps and install them. Re-enter any purchase keys.
Find the websites for all downloaded 3rd-party apps, download and install them. Re-enter any purchase keys.
Restore whatever data you saved.
Wonder what you missed, and find out the hard way . . . for months or longer.
In most cases, this is a no-brainer.

Relocate entire User Directory

Looking for an official statement from Apple on the option of relocating the entire Users directoy in OSX ( lion + )
I'd like to partition the boot drive and relocate the User Directory to the second partition.
( need a method that ensures new accounts are created in the preffered location automaticaly )
Partitioning the boot drive will make it possible to reimage the machine without touching the User's data.
Our image evolves and our user's move between systems - this would save a lot of time and server space.
An alternative to the per user System Preffrences / Users & Groups / ( specific user ) / Advanced options ( choose path )
this method is per user ( involves many steps ) not great for mass deployments.
I have used a symlink ( that works fine as far as I can tell ) perhaps their is another way I am unaware of?
dose the above update the path to a file somwhere in the System ? maybe we can modify that file for all future users..?
or somthing via the "/System/Library/User\ Template/English.lproj" ?
Please Advise =)
Thank you!

Thank you Bob, Perfect I have tried the Symlink solution on the entire Users folder - it does seem to be working great. Looking for some official apple support articles - any idea where I could find them without a support contract?
Sorry, but no.
My knowledge of Symlinks comes from being a Unix file system developer for 16 years (several different *nix implementations, but none of them Mac OS X ), plus 2 years Unix file system support, and 7 years network file systems developer (although there were no symlinks in this network protocol ).
I've paid attention to how symlinks seem to behave on Mac OS X, and their difference from Mac OS X Aliases.
While the Finder does use an alias icon for symlinks, the finder seems to use symlinks just fine, and most other applications seem to just ask the file system to navigate the path, and let the file system worry about the details.
But that is my observations. If you insist on official, then you will need to continue your search.

Mobile User doesnt work with user directory set on external drive

i'm in the progress of migrating some users from local user accounts to mobile user accounts.
unfunny thing is that creating the local copy of the mobile user accounts works perfect if the user directory is set on the internal drive of leopard server, however if I move the directory to an external drive no more locale login is possible, just "an error has occured" is reported.
I suspect a problem with user rights on the acl, however I havnt got an idea how to set them properly.

I'm having the same problem with Network Homes. When I create then in Workgroup Manager on the main drive with Mac OS X Server it all works great. When I create and share a folder on the second internal disk the client get "an error occurred" message.
Does the name of the folder matter?
Server HD/Users/glimonez - Works like a charm
Same Xserve second drive
Data/Users/glimonez - an error has occurred"
What should the permissions be for the Users folder on Data? What should I use to change them?
Also, is there a way to apply the default permissions to a users home folder? Desktop, Downloads etc for them only, and Public and sites to whatever they should be? I've only seen "apply permissions to folder and everything enclosed" options.
Sorry for long post
Gabe

Move Users Directory

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