Having Problems With Sharing & Permissions in Finder

Question

I am using a Mac Mini (mid-2011) running Lion Server 10.7.4.
I have noticed lately that when I check files the Sharing & Permissions portion using Get Info on my files I find that there are two lines for each user on my compuer.  The first set of lines says Read & Write which I actually selected.  The second set of lines says Custom.  When I check I have the list Read & Write, Read, Custom.  When I try to change Custom I cam select new option No Privileges Info.  For the other users I am able to delete the extra line once I select No Privileges Info.  However even though I have more than one line I cannot delete the extra line for the main user.  I will try and delete the extra line for the main user logged in as someone else that has what I have defined as admin privileges (reason I have more than one user).
This really concerns me because this issue is causing problems with me adding or removing files as needed in the terminal.  When I try I get this funky error:
Dubious permissions on file (skipping): filename with duplicate entries for a user.
This is happening more and more even though I am not changing the file permissions that I am aware of.
Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Repairing the permissions of a home folder in Lion is a complicated procedure. I don’t know of a simpler one that always works.
Back up all data now. Before proceeding, you must be sure you can restore your system to its present state
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the page that opens.
Drag or copy — do not type — the following line into the Terminal window, then press return:
chmod -R -N ~
The command will take a noticeable amount of time to run. When a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) appears below what you entered, it’s done. You may see a few error messages about an “invalid argument” while the command is running. You can ignore those. If you get an error message with the words “Permission denied,” enter this:
sudo !!
You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up.
Next, boot into Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at startup. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.
When the Recovery screen appears, select Utilities ▹ Terminal from the menu bar.
In the Terminal window, enter “resetpassword” (without the quotes) and press return. A Reset Password window opens. You’re not going to reset the password.
Select your boot volume if not already selected.
Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.
Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.
Select  ▹ Restart from the menu bar.