Customizing the guest account in Snow Leopard

Has anyone figured out how to permanently customize the Guest account in Snow Leopard. I did this with Leopard by following the instructions at Michael's Mac. However, those instructions don't work under Snow Leopard.

V.K. wrote:
this method still works fine for me although I did all the copying while logged in as root instead of using terminal. also you can do some customization of the guest account using Workgroup manager which is a part of Snow leopard Server Admin Tools
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL914
I was trying to do it with sudo rather than logged in as root, which I don't have set up. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
However, I should let you know that there seems to be a very bad bug in snow leopard which can sometimes wipe your main account's home directory after using the guest user.
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10123656#10123656
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10198726
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2171494&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2181373&start=15&tstart=0
until this is fixed I would suggest keeping the guest account turned off.
Yikes, thanks for the pointer! That advice I will definitely take.

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How do I customize the Guest Account in Lion

There is a discussion thread on how to customize the dock for the Guest account in Leopard <https://discussions.apple.com/message/6511435#6511435> but I do not think it will work in Lion.
I would like to customize the desktop and dock for the Guest account. I want a true Guest Account that will erase files when they log out.

I'd like to go back to the original question. I don't see an answer here yet.
We just set up a new iMac in the front office and need the "Guest" account for those who float through the office. Unfortunately, the way it currently works, each time they open Microsoft Word they are asked to register since the user files are deleted.
I would also like to update the dock removing things they won't use like "Mail" and adding Pages and other applications they will use.
Other constant customizations would be great (setting system preferences like printer, custom desktop, Safari Home Page, etc.) but at least not having them asked to register applications each time would be good.
The original poster, Richard, added a link to how to do it in Snow Leopard, but it doesn't work in Lion.
Anyone figure out how to do this in LION yet?
Thanks.

How do I change the name next to the home icon in Snow Leopard

How do I change the name next to the home icon in Snow Leopard?

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Changing the Guest Account Picture

Someone using a guest account was playing with Photobooth and changed the Account Picture for the Guest Account in Leopard. I don't know how to change it back to the default picture, any ideas?

I'm still not caught up with the "DirectoryServices" form of user records that are now the default in "Leopard", but there are two properties that might be related to the user picture in the "login window". One is 'Picture' and the other is 'JPEGPhoto', of which the latter isn't present in every user record so I would suspect that one.
While logged in to an "admin" account, try launching "/Applications" > "Utilities" > "Terminal.app" and entering this command:<pre>
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Be careful entering the command since a space in the wrong place could delete the entire "Guest" account, or even wipe out all user records. Enter the "admin" user's password at the prompt (for security reasons, the keystrokes won't appear in the window - just press the "return" key when done).

Will Lion install correctly handle multiple accounts from Snow Leopard?

Will Lion install correctly handle multiple accounts from Snow Leopard? Will current settings, DOCS etc be carried over?

I found the solution to my problem after I upgraded and it lies with the X509 Anchors.
SOLUTION: Go to /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security-common.plist (it may be a hidden file) and change it to /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security-common.plist.bak. This should remove the system calling to old outdated anchors and allow it to use the new security protocols under Lion's sandboxing feature.
It worked for me and mail runs fine.

HT201240 Re: OS X: Changing or resetting an account password (Snow Leopard and earlier)

Can someone help please! I cannot log in to my Mac
Followed these intructions from earlier posts this thread, and got to:
4. Select your Mac OS X hard disk volume. DONE
5. Select the user name of your original administrator account. COULD NOT COMPLETE
- But my original administrator account is not showing. The only option shown for me is "System Administrator (root)".
Luckily I read the note below: Important: Do not select "System Administrator (root)".
So now I wait for further advice...

Forgot Your Account Password
For Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks
    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.
     When the menubar appears select Terminal from the Utilities menu.
     Enter resetpassword at the prompt and press RETURN. Follow
     instructions in the dialog window that will appear.
     Or see:
       Reset a Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Password
       OS X Mountain Lion- Reset a login password,
       OS X Mavericks- Solve password problems,
       OS X Lion- Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password.
For Snow Leopard and earlier with installer DVD
     Mac OS X 10.6- If you forget your administrator password,
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For Snow Leopard and earlier without installer DVD
    How to reset your Mac OS X password without an installer disc | MacYourself

I just downloaded the latest version of Snow Leopard and now my iWeb won't open.

I just downloaded the latest version of Snow Leopard and now my iWeb won't open. Does anyone know how to fix it?

If wish an answer, additional information would be helpful.
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How can I recover files created in the guest account?

I set up a guest account for the kids to use, and my wife then used my Mac to type up a word document (for over 3 hours) and saved it at the end of the evening. The next day she returned, and it had gone! I now read that the "Guest account" deletes all files when the computer is switched off (what idiot decided to make this deletion so immediate and so permanent, I am perplexed, why not at least put them in a temporary folder?).
This document must still be there, surely, just "invisible". Please please, how can I get it back without parting with hundreds of pounds for file recovery document, it is just one file from yesterday!
(I switched from PCs to Mac's when we bought a new Vista laptop at work and couldn't find the "file" and "open" commands on a drop-down menu top-left of screen - the Mac-fans at work promised me that Macs were "so intuitive" and "so much better than a PC". They lied. Macs and PCs are both designed by geeky-types who want more and more complex systems, when all I want is a computer that does what I ask without too much clever stuff (like deleting 3 hours of work because my wife happened to be in the wrong account). I have wasted as long trying to find said file....I'm so depressed.

Paul -
I'm sorry you've lost files, but when you set up an account as Guest, there's a message that clearly states "When a guest user logs out, all information and files in the guest account's home folder are deleted". If you want an account where files are retained, you should create an Admin or Standard type.
You will need to use data recovery techniques to see if your file can be recovered. The more that you use your computer, the greater the risk that the file will be overwritten. You can contact a professional data recovery service such as DriveSavers (which will be expensive, but you can judge the value of the file) or try something like Data Rescue. The latter has a demo which you can install to determine if your file can be recovered, and then, on purchase, you can actually recover the file.
Good luck!
Matt

Network user cannot migrate AppleMail account from Snow Leopard to Lion 10.7.1.

I have a network user that is trying to open Apple Mail on a mini running Lion 10.7.1 for the first time. This user previously used a mini that is running Snow Leopard. Apple Mail is trying to perform an import I assume because Apple Mail 5 on the Lion is different then the version running on Snow Leopard? The import fails and says to press Continue to allow the Migration Assistant to create a new library. When we do this, the system responds that the Mail Index is damaged, to quit and reopen Mail so it can be repaired. We get the same set of messages when we close and go back into Mail.
When I access the console logs, here is what I saw:
10/18/11 12:23:01.647 PM Mail: Upgrade failed because of exception: Could not move /Network/Servers/server.aigtechnologies.net/Volumes/Data/Users/javier/Library/M ail/V2-Temp.noindex to /Network/Servers/server.aigtechnologies.net/Volumes/Data/Users/javier/Library/M ail/V2; ERROR: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=513 "“V2-Temp.noindex” couldn’t be moved because you don’t have permission to access “Mail”." UserInfo=0x7fec021161b0 {NSUserStringVariant=(
Move
), NSDestinationFilePath=/Network/Servers/server.aigtechnologies.net/Volumes/Data/ Users/javier/Library/Mail/V2, NSFilePath=/Network/Servers/server.aigtechnologies.net/Volumes/Data/Users/javie r/Library/Mail/V2-Temp.noindex, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fec021144b0 "The operation couldn’t be completed. Permission denied"}
My interpretation of this message is that either the ACL or POSIX permissions are not set correctly for the user. When I log into Server Admin and check this though, ACL is set to allow Full Control for the user's folder and all children folders. The POSIX is set to Read&Write for the user's folder and all of the children files.
I read some of the discussions and tried removing all of the contents of the V2-Temp file, but this creates the same result.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Charlene

I have a network user that is trying to open Apple Mail on a mini running Lion 10.7.1 for the first time. This user previously used a mini that is running Snow Leopard. Apple Mail is trying to perform an import I assume because Apple Mail 5 on the Lion is different then the version running on Snow Leopard? The import fails and says to press Continue to allow the Migration Assistant to create a new library. When we do this, the system responds that the Mail Index is damaged, to quit and reopen Mail so it can be repaired. We get the same set of messages when we close and go back into Mail.
When I access the console logs, here is what I saw:
10/18/11 12:23:01.647 PM Mail: Upgrade failed because of exception: Could not move /Network/Servers/server.aigtechnologies.net/Volumes/Data/Users/javier/Library/M ail/V2-Temp.noindex to /Network/Servers/server.aigtechnologies.net/Volumes/Data/Users/javier/Library/M ail/V2; ERROR: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=513 "“V2-Temp.noindex” couldn’t be moved because you don’t have permission to access “Mail”." UserInfo=0x7fec021161b0 {NSUserStringVariant=(
Move
), NSDestinationFilePath=/Network/Servers/server.aigtechnologies.net/Volumes/Data/ Users/javier/Library/Mail/V2, NSFilePath=/Network/Servers/server.aigtechnologies.net/Volumes/Data/Users/javie r/Library/Mail/V2-Temp.noindex, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fec021144b0 "The operation couldn’t be completed. Permission denied"}
My interpretation of this message is that either the ACL or POSIX permissions are not set correctly for the user. When I log into Server Admin and check this though, ACL is set to allow Full Control for the user's folder and all children folders. The POSIX is set to Read&Write for the user's folder and all of the children files.
I read some of the discussions and tried removing all of the contents of the V2-Temp file, but this creates the same result.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Charlene

How can I remove the Guest account from the login screen?

I'm very new to the Mac world so pardon this noob question. But how can I control what user accounts are visible on the login screen on OS X? I've already went into the System Preference, User Accounts and set the Guest account to disabled. However this account is still on the logon screen when I reboot the Mac! How can I remove this account and/or make sure that my user account is the only one visible?

I'm not sure why this worked, but I found this in another post and it worked for me.
Even when the Guest Account / Access is disabled, the login option / and lock screen, still have a guest login.
This is because in Preferences/ Security & Privacy/General the bottom item is turned on.
Turn on: Disable restarting to Safari when screen is locked

How do I run parallels in the guest account

I recently updated my Mac Mini. On the old one I was running Parallels, and had the guest account set up to be able to run parallels just fine. I used Migration Assistant to transfer everything to the new Mac. Unfortunately, now my guest account can no longer run Parallels. When I try to run Parallels, a popup window comes on the screen saying "You don't have permission to use the application 'launcher.'" Even if I click "Always Allow", the next time I try to run it I get the same popup window warning. I tried following Parallels webpage advice in how to share a virtual machine with multiple users from their website: http://kb.parallels.com/en/9303, but that doesn't help whatsoever. So now I'm stuck. What am I doing wrong? I obviously had this working another time. I'm thinking that the problem seems to lie on the Mac side, rather than the Parallels side. Please help!

I have not encountered this specific problem, but I suspect the cure is to reinstall Parallels desktop. Parallels installs some functions deep in the OS and they are unlikely to be transferred using MIgration Assistant which intentionally seeks to protect the operating systemon the target Mac.

How do I upgrade my Core2Duo Mini OSX10.4.11 to the latest version of Snow Leopard?

How do I upgrade my Core2Duo Mini OSX10.4.11 to the latest version of Snow Leopard?
I am aware I should upgrade from 1GB to 2GB of RAM. Can I just purchase the Snow Leopard DVD and install from that? Will I be able to run my Microsoft Office 2004 suite? Is it worth doing? I can't run any decent browsers with this old dinosaur.....but I'd rather not cough up $600 clams for a new one....
I have 7GB available on my hard drive.
Thanks in advance for help with this.

You may also want to upgrade the HD or at least move large libraries onto external disks (since a macmini generally does not move like a laptop an external disk is just another desktop item). 7 GB free will be chewed into hard by SL and you should always have 15-20 GB free to allow OSX room to perform normal operations.

Is there any way to add a password to the guest account?

We use a computer reservation system for public computers in my library. I would love to have the functionality of the guest account so the account is wiped after every log out.
The problem with our reservation system is, it requires an account with a password for the system to work properly. So for the past year, I have been running a standard user account with 3rd party software to lock out the ability to permently change anything on the system. The problem with this is, it retains any changes users make until the system is restarted, not logged out. So by the end of a 12 hour day the machine can be pretty screwed up if it hasn't been restarted at some point.
The Guest Account is exactly what I want, but if I can't find a way to add a password to it there is no way for my reservation system to use it.

You could write a shell script to do that and run it on logout via a logout hook:
http://seeskill.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/mac-os-x-login-and-logout-scripts-demys tified/
https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPSyste mStartup/Chapters/CustomLogin.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/10000172i-SW10-BAJCGEGG
I can't be of much help writing such a script. Apple also cautions against such scripts since due to the fact that they run as root they're a security risk. Apple recommends using launchd, something which I have no experience with, but I found a presentation on the basics here that might help:
http://www.macos.utah.edu/documentation/operating_systems/launchd.html
I don't know of any other way to remove user documents and settings automatically on logout.
Regards.

Is there any way to recover files from the guest account on a Mac, after the machine has been logged out?

I had uploaded some photos onto iPhoto on the guest account for my visitors, intending to burn them on departure.
I updated my Mac with a system software update, which required reboot so I of course types in the admin username/password to do so.
I received no warning message "caution: all temporary files in guest account will be deleted if you logout" as if you logout directly from the guest account, so I had forgotten about the guest account wipe.
Just today I switched to the guest user, and was dismayed to find the files gone.
Surely there must be some way to recover these files? Can anyone help?!
Thanks
Alan

They possibly still exist on the hard drive if you haven't overwritten that space already.
Your only hope is to try a file recovery program like Data Rescue 3 or some sort like that.
(note: the product linked to is an example of the suggested kind of software that may help you; it is not in any way my recommendation or endorsement of the product. I haven't used this product and can't comment on its effectiveness).

I have a mac book pro that i bought in late 2009. My current software is snow leopard version 10.5.8. I would like to get the new lion operating system but I cant without first getting the latest version of snow leopard. it doesnt show on software updat

I have a mac book pro that i bought in late 2009. My current software is snow leopard version 10.5.8. I would like to get the new lion operating system but I cant without first getting the latest version of snow leopard. however when I go to update my software it doesnt show that any update is available.

10.5.8 is Leopard, not Snow Leopard. You need the Snow Leopard DVD;
You can get it only by phone now from Apple.
In the US, call 1-800-MY-APPLE and ask for a sales assistant. Last quoted price was $19.99 for the single-user and $29.99 for the family licence.
For other countries, check here; http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57
Don't forget to ask for Sales; the tech support guys can't help.
If you want Lion, rather than Mountain Lion, the same Sales team can give you a download code to use at the Mac AppStore.
To get the App Store, you need to update your new Snow Leopard from 10.6.3 (which is the version on the installer) to 10.6.8 with the combo update; http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399
Be warned that the upgrades will render a lot of older software unusable, and will need new drivers for printers and scanners in all likelihood.

Customizing the guest account in Snow Leopard

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