Accidentally deleted /private/var/folders

Hi folks,
yesterday I did something really stupid, I deleted recursively /private/var/folders
But I was able to restore it from backup like follows:
+ mounted external drive (Backup with SuperDuper! on it)
+ created a tar ball from <backup>/private/var/folders (as root)
+ extracted tar ball in /private/var/ (as root)
Now my questions...
What is /private/var/folders used for?
Because my backup was maybe two month old, any suggestions on the possible gap and changed data?
Any chance that I lost some important data/metadata?
Any useful help is highly appreciated.
Kind regards
Jens

There should be a set of folders inside the /private/var/folders with cryptic names such as 90, LB, zz and so on. Each of the cryptically named folders has a sub-folder that begins with the same two characters, and continues with something even more cryptic, for instance
/private/var/folders/90/90gu9daQFSitP4FD2179ck+TI
And inside that folder are sub-folders for caches and two temp folders: a -Tmp- folder and a TemporaryItems folder. These ought to be empty when you first startup your computer. Many programs use them for storing stuff as they are working. The -Caches- folder has a similar function, except the data stays there thru a restart. If those files are removed no harm done, although some things may be a little slower until the cache for it is rebuilt.
The problem that can happen is that the ownership and group of each of the really cryptically named folders (shown above) and the three sub-folders must be correct or you will run into some VERY strange problems with some programs that use those folders. In the case above, that is my main user's temporary and cache folder home. There will also be a folder for each user on the computer, and the others will belong to the system and to other "users" such as a proxy server, the Guest account, the printer demon (anyway I think that's what _lp is) and so on. The two-character parent folders (90 in the above example) should all be owned by system, group wheel. It's their sub-folders which must have owner and group correct.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

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System won't boot after accidentally deleting /private/var/folder

My Macbook Air is running OS 10.9 Mavericks, and I accidentally deleted the /var folder after seeing it taking lots of GB's from my storage.
Safari, Mail and a lot of applications f'ed up itself, like safari saying it couldn't connect to the folder.
I tried to put those folders back, and it gave me an Unauthorized Caller alert. I tried doing it again, and the folders froze, but I can still move my mouse. I restarted my computer by holding power 7 seconds, and tried to restart.
Somehow, I saw the grey Apple logo startup screen, heard that startup chime, and 10 seconds later, it shut down. I tried doing it again many times, but to no avail.

mikeearth wrote:
So here's my problem. I'm using intel iMac and yesterday my Mac didn't boot( grey screen etc). I thought that it was because I used force shutdown. I used (option-cmd-r-p) to reset and after that, Mac booted up into some kind of "first time startup screen"... So I used installation DVD and restored my previous backup of the system by using the TM. After that the Mac booted and now all I get is folder with a question mark? Now what....?
your profile suggests that you are running Tiger. if that is so, you shouldn't even be able to use time machine (introduced with Leo).
can you please clarify ...

Accidentally deleted /private/var/root

Hello All!
I have accidentally deleted the directory /private/var/root/. Is there anything important in there?
The system has recreated the directory. However, there is no .forward and no .CFUserTextEncoding file anymore. Also, there were some .GlobalPreferences.plist files that didn't reappear. I also had to reconfigure the multiple desktops in my account, which is a bit weird as this setting should not be stored in the root directory but in my user directory?
Thanks for some inputs.

Restore its content from your backup. Otherwise, you will need to reinstall OS X.
Reinstalling OS X Without Erasing the Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall OS X: Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
Also see:
Reinstall OS X Without Erasing the Drive
OS X Yosemite- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

Mavericks private/var/folders keeps growing

Been having some issues with MacBook Airs with Mavericks installed. The private/var/folders continues to grow in size over the course of 1-2 months consuming all the disk space which leads to the computer being unusable. I've had to write a small script to go in and delete the folder from the machines or do it manually.
I know this folder should be deleted automatically from the system. Has anyone else seen or encountered this issue?
Thank you in advance

"/private/var/folders") is "per-user temporary files and caches". It is created and managed by Mac OS X.
The directory will be created if it does not already exist.
By default, files in this location may be cleaned (removed) by the system if they are not accessed in 3 days.
The cache will only be deleted with a safe boot and only files older then 3 days are cleaned out of temp. Either way, you can delete "/var/folders" and reboot whenever you would like without danger of ruining anything.
Lex

I am getting the following error message when I try to import photos into iPhoto from my camera: "/private/var/folders/GB/GBl4wh8-ELqUVMI5dO-ryU TI/-Tmp-/iPhoto/DSCF2033.JPG". Have already tried removing and reinstalling iPhoto to no avail.

I am getting the following error message when I try to import photos into iPhoto from my camera: "/private/var/folders/GB/GBl4wh8-ELqUVMI5dO-ryU TI/-Tmp-/iPhoto/DSCF2033.JPG". Have already tried removing and reinstalling iPhoto to no avail.

Does this happen if you try to Import to Library within iPhoto, or is it when you connect your camera (and which is set to automatically use iPhoto) that this error message occurs?
If you open Image Capture > Preferences is iPhoto selected as the choice when a camera is connected?

Plz help Help I have accidentally deleted the var folder on my mac and now it won't start up what should I do?

Plz help
Help I have accidentally deleted the var folder on my mac and now it won't start up what should I do?

/var is a hidden folder, so you mustn't remove the folder.
The only solution is to reinstall OS X. If you have OS X Lion or Mountain Lion, use OS X Recovery > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
Hold Command and R keys while your MacBook is starting and reinstall OS X. You won't lose anything. If you have a backup, you can restore it after starting in OS X Recovery instead of reinstalling Mac OS X, so you will save a lot of time

Help I have accidentally deleted the var folder on my mac and now it won't start up what should I do?

Plz help
Help I have accidentally deleted the var folder on my mac and now it won't start up what should I do?

Reinstall OS X.
Reinstall Snow Leopard without erasing the drive
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing the Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

"Combine PDFs" Places New File In /private/var/folders/0Q etc. WHERE?

I have just used Automator to combine .pdfs.
Apparently it has put the combined file in ....
/private/var/folders/0Q/0QlZ-reFFvSsYn6CVY8VXk+Ti/-Tmp-/ftqdhY.pdf
So where on earth is that?
I can summon up the new file by double-clicking it in the Automator "Results" window and save it somewhere convenient, but I would like to be able to drag the original from where it is hiding and put it in a place of my choosing.

Thanks! The nearest I could find to your suggested action was "New Folder", which I didn't hold out much hope for, but it worked!
Any idea how to access the weird place my original attempts were put into?

/ /System/Library/CoreServices/ReportCrash /usr/lib/libgenkit.dylib /usr/share/icu/icudt51l.dat /private/var/folders/_p/d1ckn47x4wsghc2vb1rk82vm0000gn/C/com.apple.LaunchServic es-044501.csstore /usr/lib/dyld /private/var/db/dyld/dyld_shared_cache_x86_64 /

Ever since I upgrade to Maverick I keep getting this error. Any have an idea. Its really messing up my computer.

Hi,
Your doing what and when this appears would be useful.
It also looks like it has extra spaces dotted about in this copy of the info.
There appear to be several spaces before some of the forward slashes that are not expected.
On the other hand it could be several different lines of a report as when I look ReportCrash is an Executable item and cannot be opened further.
/ /System/Library/CoreServices/ReportCrash
/usr/lib/libgenkit.dylib /usr/share/icu/icudt51l.dat
/private/var/folders/_p/d1ckn47x4wsghc2vb1rk82vm0000/C/com.apple.LaunchServic es-044501.csstore
/usr/lib/dyld /private/var/db/dyld/dyld_shared_cache_x86_64 /d
Did it read like the above originally ?
It would appear that Report Crash is triggered and it might have something do do with something in Launch Services but then again they might not be related other than an app reporting it is using those two things .
8:40 pm Saturday; May 3, 2014
 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

Deleted private/var/db folder.... Can't boot

Hi, first I know that what I did was stupid but I didnt know what I was doing.. and I still don’t know what are the consequences.
In order to save space on my MBP 2011 Snow Leopard, I deleted private/var/db folder, yes the whole folder to the trashbin and then I emptied it. Files that were in use weren´t deleted.
So I rebooted and the screen is stuck on apple logo with the turning wheel and safe boot start normally but end up with the turning wheel too.
How can I put fix this issue?
Can I recover the files deleted ? Or at least put back the files that are still in the trash bin ?
Thank you for any help.

If they borrow a disc it's possible to replace just the deleted directory using Pacifist:
How Restore Deleted or Missing OS X Components
A few of the basic OS X installed applications can be restored from the Optional Installs installer located in the Optional installs folder on your Installer DVD. However, if what you need is not there then follow the instructions below.
How to Use Pacifist to Restore Deleted or Missing OS X Components
Insert the OS X Installer DVD into the optical drive. Use a simple utility like TinkerTool to toggle invisibility so you can see invisible items. Alternatively, open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder and at the prompt enter the following:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles Yes
Press RETURN.
To turn off the display of invisible files repeat the above command substituting No for Yes.
The install packages are located in the /System/Installation/ folder on the DVD.
Download the shareware utility Pacifist. Use it to extract a fresh copy of the missing item(s) from the file archives on your OS X installation DVD. The file archives are in the /System/Installations/ folder (use Go to Folder option in the Go menu of the Finder.)
Here are Four Basic ways to use Pacifist (courtesy of George Orville.)
Drag a .pkg icon onto the Pacifist window .....proceed to step 7.
Click on “Open Package ....” and navigate to package desired and click “Open” in the open/save window.....proceed to step 7.
Insert Mac OS X installer CD and when it mounts, navigate to .... Menu->Go->Go to Folder. In the path field enter or paste ....
/Volumes/disc name/System/Installation/Packages (where disc name is the name of the CD/DVD that you inserted.)
Click on the "Go" button ..... • Drag a .pkg to Pacifist..... proceed to step 7.
The package you'll need will have to be discovered by trial and error, but for most applications you should start with the Essentials.pkg and/or Additional Essentials.pkg.
D. Insert your Mac OS X install disk 1 .... and open Pacifist.
1.          In Pacifist, select "Open Mac OS X Install Packages" ... dialog may appear asking for disk 2, then disk 3 and finally disk 1 again.... {if DVD is not used)...If “Stop Loading” is selected...the procedure will stop!!!
2a. When loading is complete, a new window appears, click the triangle to display contents of each package...Select item and proceed to step 7.
2b.          or click the “Find” icon in the Pacifist window and type the name of the software you need.
3.          In the list that comes back, click the top most entry for the item that you want. ..... that is the one for the English language.
4.          On the top of the Pacifist window, click “verify” .... you will probably be prompted for your password.
5.          Enter checks for.... “verify permissions” and “verify file contents.” and click “verify” ....enter password when prompted.... you will get back output which may look like this:
          20 files were scanned. 20 of 20 files were present on the hard disk. 0 of 20 files had file permissions that did not match those specified in the package. 0 of 20 files had checksums that did not match those specified in the package.
6.          Click “close”. Go to step 7.
Extract or Install........
7.          In the Toolbar (upper left), you now have the option to extract or install. Click a file in the lower list and those two icons will be enabled.
8.          If “Extract to...” is selected.... navigate to the location where the file will be placed, select “choose”, select “extract” in new dialog that appears,authenicate , if prompted, click “OK”.
9.          In the next dialog, click “Extract”.
10.          If “Install” is selected... dialog will appear with the location/path of the installed software. Click “Install”
11.          Type in your password, click “OK”
Pacifist will begin to extract files.
12.          In steps 8/10ß.... you also have the choice to “cancel”
Notes:          Pacifist may find that a file it is installing already exists on the hard disk. Pacifist will present you with an alert panel....
Stop
Leave original alone
Update .....
Default selection
Replace .... (Replace option should only be used on full install packages)

Help Please - Accidentally Deleted Private Folder

Please could someone help.
I have accidentally deleted the Private folder in the root of the HD
Now OSX will not boot.
The folder is sitting in my Trash folder and I would like from the Boot CD Terminal to copy back from the trash to the Macintosh HD/ location
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Mim

Not quite: If MimUK's account shortname is (for example): mimuk
then it would be within that account's Trash, namely, you'll have to (yes) boot from another volume (not sure this will work booted from CD, but it might), *mount the drive in read+write mode*
ie (possibly requiring sudo, depending on circumstances):
sudo mount -uw /Volumes/nameOfTheDriveInQuestion
sudo mv /Users/mimuk/.Trash/private /Volumes/nameOfTheDriveInQuestion/
Moral of this story: don't make hidden folders visible for reasons just such as this
And in any case, don't delete something unless you know full well what it's for.

Accidentally deleted all my folders

I had my blackberry as well as my memory stick connected to my pc . I wanted to clear out my memory stick and unfortunately in a moment of complete distraction I deleted all my folders off my BB! I could kick myself!! So now when I connect my BB to my pc all the folders appear as shortcuts and are only 1KB in size. I can take pictures but it does not save them, I cant take videos or voicenotes at all. I cant copy and paste anything into them. If the folders now appear as shortcuts surely the original folder can be restored? Is this possible?
My contacts, email and IM settings remain the same - Its just the "Media" I am having a problem with! When I called our service provider I was told that I needed a new memory card and that will restore all the settings. That does not make sense to me.
I tried to update the software on my phone but it did not fix the problem as I had hoped.
Any suggestions how to proceed?
Thanks
Tanea

Hi Tanea,
If you deleted all of your folders from your BlackBerry media card, all data inside those folders would have been removed as well. If your folders were empty and you just want the folder structure back, you can format your media card under Options>Memory, press the menu key then Format.
Let me know if this works!
-CptS
Come follow your BlackBerry Technical Team on twitter! @BlackBerryHelp
Be sure to click Kudos! for those who have helped you.Click Solution? for posts that have solved your issue(s)!

I accidentally deleted the actual folders in my history "library." I need to get them back/make new ones. How can I do this?

I have searched support but only find answers like "wait a few days and the folders will return." I need all the standard folders back like "today", "yesterday", "last 7 days", etc. Thank you.

Apologies for jumping in. This will not be a quick fix or even a complete fix, it may not even work; but it may be important you act quickly to get any fix!
Better still swap the HDD over and use another OS to clone and recover !
I guess it depends on exactly what you did, and the efforts you are prepared to use to attempt to recover the History.
Immediately back up your Firefox profile. That at least preserves your rolling bookmarks backups and whatever History you do have. Preferably back it up to another machine.
Now consider leaving that computer alone and using another machine. You can always load that profile on another machine and use it (or preferably yet another copy of it) and see what it contains. (search for a colon : that covers most History)
Assuming you did delete the history then with luck and timely action you may get some of it back using an undelete utility. (Followed maybe with a sqlite editor to stitch portions back together) download something like recuva : http://www.piriform.com/recuva
Recovering a whole profile or a whole history is difficult and probably unlikely, but I seem to recall some have succeed with this in the past.

Trojan .exe and zip.000 showing up in /private/tmp and private/var/folders

I continually have .exe files and zip.000 files showing up inside two folders on my iMac. My antivirus software (Trend Micro Smart Surfing for Mac) finds and quaranteens them daily. Usually it is about six a day. Today it found 18 or so. I am not worried about them themselves since they are a windows problem, but I can't seem to figure out where they are coming from. Is there a way to track these folders and find what is placing these files in there? Thanks for any help!
OSX Lion 10.7.4

Well, it's running somewhere on your Mac, see if any clues here...
http://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/
http://www.zdnet.com/cross-platform-trojan-checks-your-os-attacks-windows-mac-li nux-7000000656/
Disable Java in your Browser settings, not JavaScript.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5241?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en-GB&answer=142064
http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/How%20to%20turn%20off%20Java%20applets
Flashback - Detect and remove the uprising Mac OS X Trojan...
http://www.mac-and-i.net/2012/04/flashback-detect-and-remove-uprising.html
In order to avoid detection, the installer will first look for the presence of some antivirus tools and other utilities that might be present on a power user's system, which according to F-Secure include the following:
/Library/Little Snitch
/Developer/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/MacOS/Xcode
/Applications/VirusBarrier X6.app
/Applications/iAntiVirus/iAntiVirus.app
/Applications/avast!.app
/Applications/ClamXav.app
/Applications/HTTPScoop.app
/Applications/Packet Peeper.app
If these tools are found, then the malware deletes itself in an attempt to prevent detection by those who have the means and capability to do so. Many malware programs use this behavior, as was seen in others such as the Tsunami malware bot.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57410096-263/how-to-remove-the-flashback-ma lware-from-os-x/
http://x704.net/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5844&p=70660#p70660
The most current flashback removal instructions are F-Secure's Trojan-Downloader:OSX/Flashback.K.
https://www.securelist.com/en/blog/208193454/Flashfake_Removal_Tool_and_online_c hecking_site
More bad news...
https://www.securelist.com/en/blog/208193467/SabPub_Mac_OS_X_Backdoor_Java_Explo its_Targeted_Attacks_and_Possible_APT_link

/Mac HD/private/var/folders/hw/gblkb20s77bcj2wxv_pcm8f80000gp/T/decryptedFile.dmg

This is showing up in Disk Utility. I have no clue what it is or how to actually get to it.
I'm not seeing any issues on my system, but this has never been there before. Any help appreciated.
Lloyd

Link is good on my machine. And no, it isn't a server.
But I got to the file, mounted it and found out it was the Flash Player installation crap! I deleted it since my flash player is up to date. Who knows what the heck Adobe was doing stuffing that there.
Thanks for the reply.

Accidentally deleted /private/var/folders

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