Lockfiles persist in ~/Library/Preferences

I just noticed a log entry related to ~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist
Checking the ~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist directory I found over 170 *lockfiles many from Aug 15 2011.
None from anytime recent.
Should something be cleaning them up?
I deleted all of them, was that a mistake?

You didn't hurt anything by deleting them. I think those are leftovers from a prior OS that you my have upgraded from. If I recall, they're 0 bytes in length. Link to review.

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How to move .plist files from /Library/Preferences

Hi,
We are trialing using software called Deep Freeze to take a snap shot of the OS that is restored upon reboot thus removing the majority of configuration changes and thus reducing the amount of support calls.
When setting up the software you have the option to create a "Thaw Space" that users can modify at will and the changes will persist over the reboot. Upon creating this space you are able to "map" certain directories such as Documents, Desktop and Library to the Thaw Space.
Initially we did not move the Library folder over so that all changes to wallpapers/screensaves/dock/finder toolbar etc. were restored upon reboot, which ultimately is what we wanted to do from the beginning. This however produced a number of problems of data not being retained over the reboot when we needed it to:
- iCal data
- application specific settings (eg. toolbar settings in neooffice)
- sorting email in apple mail by a field (eg. receive date)
etc. And are continually finding new problems.
So in the end we simply set the entire Library to be mapped to the Thaw Space, however this sets us back to square one in that the users can still change the dock, screensaver, wallpaper etc.
It is my understanding that the files are stored in .plist files in <user>/Library/Preferences. I tried moving individual .plist files out of the Thaw Space and then creating alias files pointing to them, however these were simply deleted and replaced on reboot.
So my question is how would I go about moving a .plist file out of /Library/Preferences
Cheers

It would seem to me that the problem lies with the Deep Freeze software. Changing system files in system directories is not a good idea. Why not contact Deep Freeze and have them fix their software rather than possibly mucking up your own OS.
I would also recommend that you either update your profile or your OS. 10.5.1 had some bugs that were fixed over the years. It's always good to have the latest OS installed.

What are the .plist.lockfile files in the preference folders?

I've just recently noticed in the Library/Preferences folder, and the Users/Library/Preferences folder, files appearing with ".plist.lockfile" at the end of the file names, and they are zero bytes. I don't recall seeing those files in there before. Just wondering what these are and why they would have zero bytes to them.

I googled it and found this article.
Long but very informative. It takes a while to read through it.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20093292-263/lockfiles-and-other-plist-file -subtypes-in-os-x-lion/
Best.

Mail wont launch at all. Deleted this: ~/library/preferences/com.apple.mail.plist

Mail wouldnt let me send outgoing mail claiming there to be an error whilst there was an outgoing connection. So I thought to completely reset the entire app and found a forum that told me to delete something >_> And so I deleted this ~/library/preferences/com.apple.mail.plist and now nothing will launch. And well. Nothing is backed up. Im an idiot. ;___; I just want to go back to my chalk and slate. TECHNOLOGY HATES ME. Please help me.

Hi Bill,
You could also try com.apple.helpviewer.plist (in ~/Library/Preferences). Have you noted whether this is system-wide or restricted to your user account? I'd create a test account (if you don't have another on your system) and try the help menus. If they're messed up over there, then fixing things in your user folder won't help. The only system resource I could find that seems remotely relevant is /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.helpdata.plist, but I'd be verrrry careful about messing around with stuff in your System folder.
Hope that helps!
—Hazy

My mac 10.8 does no have the file, com.apple.desktop. plist I wentto lIbrary, preference and look for it and it is not where in my mac. I also launch time machine and file is no where on my Mac. How do I get this file back?

My mac 10.8 does no have the file, com.apple.desktop. plist I wentto lIbrary, preference and look for it and it is not where in my mac. I also launch time machine and file is no where on my Mac. How do I get this file back?
thanks

System files are hidden by default in Finder now, search for what you want then click the little + button on the top right of the bar that appears when you do a search. A new bar comes up and click the first box (that says "Kind"), change it to "System Files". Then change the box that says "aren't included" to "are included" and your file should show up.
http://osxdaily.com/2009/02/25/show-hidden-files-in-os-x/

Mail(1739) deny file-read-data /Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist

Hi
Since moving from HDD to SSD and Lion to ML I am getting loads of these errors in my System Log
Mail(1739) deny file-read-data /Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist
I am not experiencing any end issues as a result but notice I am getting 6 every second which must be causing an issue
The details are:
Mail(1739) deny file-read-data /Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist
Process:         Mail [1739]
Path:            /Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail
Load Address:    0x10f773000
Identifier:      com.apple.mail
Version:         1485 (6.0)
Build Info:      3-Mail~1485000000000000
Code Type:       x86_64 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [237]
Date/Time:       2012-08-05 11:54:01.392 +0100
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.8 (12A269)
Report Version: 8
Thread 0:
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib            0x00007fff8c9d5fee __open + 10
1   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c12a588 __33-[CFPrefsPlistSource synchronize]_block_invoke_0 + 296
2   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c125f07 withDaemonConnection + 87
3   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c12a36c -[CFPrefsPlistSource synchronize] + 316
4   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c1291a1 -[CFPrefsPlistSource synchronizeIfStale] + 113
5   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c12927a -[CFPrefsPlistSource copyValueForKey:] + 42
6   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c128213 -[CFPrefsSearchListSource copyValueForKey:] + 131
7   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c124080 __CFPreferencesCopyAppValue_block_invoke_0 + 32
8   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c1277e8 +[CFPrefsSearchListSource withSearchListForIdentifier:perform:] + 824
9   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8bffd67a CFPreferencesCopyAppValue + 186
10 Foundation                        0x00007fff8ccb7db0 -[NSUserDefaults(NSUserDefaults) objectForKey:] + 22
11 Foundation                        0x00007fff8ccb7c97 -[NSUserDefaults(NSUserDefaults) boolForKey:] + 23
12 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92932d8b ABDLog + 290
13 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935eda -[ABSafeNotificationEntry reflectNotification:] + 63
14 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935cf1 -[ABSafeNotificationReflector reflectNotification:toEntryIfElligible:] + 72
15 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935c72 __50-[ABSafeNotificationReflector notificationFunnel:]_block_invoke_0 + 37
16 CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c0597d9 __NSSetEnumerate + 985
17 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935c26 -[NSSet(ABSetAdditions) _abEach:] + 91
18 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935ad3 -[ABCopyOnWriteSet useReadOnlySet:] + 44
19 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935a9e -[ABCopyOnWriteSet each:] + 91
20 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935a1e -[ABSafeNotificationReflector notificationFunnel:] + 181
21 CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8bff5b8a _CFXNotificationPost + 2554
22 Foundation                        0x00007fff8ccb7a76 -[NSNotificationCenter postNotificationName:object:userInfo:] + 64
23 Mail                              0x000000010f7757d5
24 CoreData                          0x00007fff88968e64 -[NSManagedObjectContext(_NSInternalAdditions) _didSaveChanges] + 2132
25 CoreData                          0x00007fff88958589 -[NSManagedObjectContext save:] + 1241
26 Message                           0x00007fff88d3e755 -[SeenMessagesManager saveChanges] + 46
27 Message                           0x00007fff88d372f6 -[POPStore fetchSynchronously] + 2175
28 Message                           0x00007fff88d2edd2 -[POPAccount fetchSynchronously] + 140
29 CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c036cac __invoking___ + 140
30 CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c036b47 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 263
31 CoreMessage                       0x00007fff8b271d5d -[MonitoredInvocation invoke] + 225
32 CoreMessage                       0x00007fff8b28a2b2 -[ThrowingInvocationOperation main] + 33
33 CoreMessage                       0x00007fff8b236602 -[_MFInvocationOperation main] + 431
34 Foundation                        0x00007fff8ccfdbb6 -[__NSOperationInternal start] + 684
35 Foundation                        0x00007fff8cd053d1 __block_global_6 + 129
36 libdispatch.dylib                 0x00007fff8cc5ef3d _dispatch_call_block_and_release + 15
37 libdispatch.dylib                 0x00007fff8cc5b0fa _dispatch_client_callout + 8
38 libdispatch.dylib                 0x00007fff8cc5c23e _dispatch_worker_thread2 + 304
39 libsystem_c.dylib                 0x00007fff8c361ceb _pthread_wqthread + 404
40 libsystem_c.dylib                 0x00007fff8c34c1b1 start_wqthread + 13
Binary Images:
       0x10f773000 -        0x10fb0fff7 com.apple.mail (6.0 - 1485) <6C62E4AC-EBA9-3E31-B677-B26356423DE1> /Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail
    0x7fff88914000 -     0x7fff88b32fff com.apple.CoreData (106 - 407.5) <45EF39FE-7FD6-366E-BB5C-3E86E0B7DA3C> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreData.framework/Versions/A/CoreData
    0x7fff88bc2000 -     0x7fff88e08ff7 com.apple.MessageFramework (6.0 - 1485) <79FA27A2-D01A-3D35-AE3A-7F8F41034728> /System/Library/Frameworks/Message.framework/Versions/B/Message
    0x7fff8b20c000 -     0x7fff8b2c4ff7 com.apple.CoreMessage (1.0 - 1485) <1210621B-BABB-3153-A8DF-DAC0FA671D05> /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreMessage.framework/Versions/A/CoreMessage
    0x7fff8bfb0000 -     0x7fff8c199fff com.apple.CoreFoundation (6.8 - 744) <47AEA7C7-EF9B-3FC6-AEBF-CE02FC650301> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.framework/Versions/A/CoreFoundation
    0x7fff8c34b000 -     0x7fff8c417fef libsystem_c.dylib (825.24) <16B6B86C-53EE-36E8-AC2B-4AADC1008098> /usr/lib/system/libsystem_c.dylib
    0x7fff8c9c4000 -     0x7fff8c9dfff7 libsystem_kernel.dylib (2050.7.9) <E0447BF5-E104-35B0-B28B-4156887D58F1> /usr/lib/system/libsystem_kernel.dylib
    0x7fff8cc59000 -     0x7fff8cc6eff7 libdispatch.dylib (228.18) <0B6B6E7F-4D8A-3F3B-A4BF-6CF34638DBBB> /usr/lib/system/libdispatch.dylib
    0x7fff8cc6f000 -     0x7fff8cfcbff7 com.apple.Foundation (6.8 - 945) <0C972F73-0C07-3384-98F2-B176E0289494> /System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/Versions/C/Foundation
    0x7fff92926000 -     0x7fff92be1fff com.apple.AddressBook.framework (7.0 - 1143) <EC55CF4B-4194-3163-B6E1-8C8D2712FBCF> /System/Library/Frameworks/AddressBook.framework/Versions/A/AddressBook
Any wise wisdom?
Thanks, Chris.

The .plist files are almost always preferences. I believe "plist" is short for "property list". It contains a list of keys (configuration options) and settings for each key, similar in some respects to the way the Windows Registry works, except that there is a separate file for each set of settings, instead of a single registry file as in Windows. In this case it's a shared settings file for Mail, but I couldn't tell you anything more about the contents.
You were smart to back it up. Usually .plist files can be deleted without signicant loss, because they will be recreated automatically with default settings. But sometimes they contain important settings that may be hard to set up again, especially if you had help setting up your computer in the first place, or have lost important details that you'd need for setting up an app, such as Mail. But sometimes the settings are trivial, for example the position and size of windows, etc., and do not contain settings you'd care about, which may be in another .plist file or in some other kind of file/database.

Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf.plist---Should be 80, group is 0

I am new to the Mac world, so please bear with me. I have freeze up issues with beachballs delux on my mid 2011 21.5 iMac with 2.5 GHz Intel Core I5 processor. When I run repairing permissions, it resolves the problem for a few days, but then returns back to the same problem. It says "Library/Preferences?Com.apple.alf.plist. Should be 80, group is 0
Can anyone tell me how to resolve this freeze up problems? I origiginally had Lion operating system and when I upgraded to Mountain Lion the issue was better, but did not totally cure this.

The next time you have the problem, note the exact times when it starts and ends: hour, minute, second.
If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
Launch the Console 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 Console in the page that opens.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left.
Scroll back in the log to the time you noted above. Post any messages timestamped during that interval – the text, please, not a screenshot.
Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Edit it out by search-and-replace in a text editor before posting.

Group differs on "Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf.plist";

As the title suggests I got this issue which is annoying because it is causing high inactive memory & this obstacles all the rest . Means I must do 2-3 times a day repair permissions with Disk Utility .
Group differs on “Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf.plist”;
It gets repaired & then all over again . So far I could not find a solution . I have already sent feedback to Apple .
That's all folks , if anyone knows how to handle this it would be nice , at least until there is an official response .
Thank you , have a nice day .

bump
I actually have this all the time. com.apple.alf.plist is always repaired whenever Disk Utility repairs permissions.
I also came across somewhere that it was included in the solution for a problem about iTunes requesting permission to access internet everytime it is launched. And I had that issue as well. (iTunes asks for my permission for internet access everytime I launch it.) And the solution proposed for this included the deletion of this "com.apple.alf.plist" regarding a firewall issue. Although I deleted the file, Disk Utility still repairs this file (though iTunes haven't yet asked for internet permissions.) everytime I run the permission repair.
I suppose there has got to be a solution to keep the file stable, like without causing the repair.
Not a big issue, as mentioned in the thread title; but still, this may be the cause or result of something going on in the computer; so any suggestions are welcome.
Cheers!

Time machine excludes other items in /Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist??

Hey. I heard that time machine excludes some items even if they are not selected by you in time machine preferences. The items time machine excludes "secretly" are located in /Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist Is there any way to remove these items. Things like calendars and iphoto show up on this exclusion list. I want to make sure I dont lose those.

The only items excluded by default are cache and index files that will be regenerated automatically if deleted.

Weird folders in ~/library preferences eg ˘ùñÁ∆Ùøˇ' ñÙxÄñÁ-

Hey, I've been using someone else mac imac 8,1 osx 10.5.4 and finding it buggy i've reinstalled some software, deleting an on plist in the process. When i wentinto ~/library/preferences i noticed a bunch of weird empty folders (about 35) with strange names eg.'¡PñÁ∆Ùøˇ‘ ñÙxÄñÁ…, or )—†gXøˇœ∞è¿ƒ. when I drag these into terminal and do a ls -l@ it says no such file or directory. I have never seen anything like this - apparently windows has never run on this machine. Any ideas?
Also permissions for all folders at ~ level read drwx------+ - is the + normal for these folders?

tmx3 wrote:
Hey, I've been using someone else mac imac 8,1 osx 10.5.4 and finding it buggy i've reinstalled some software, deleting an on plist in the process. When i wentinto ~/library/preferences i noticed a bunch of weird empty folders (about 35) with strange names eg.'¡PñÁ∆Ùøˇ‘ ñÙxÄñÁ…, or )—†gXøˇœ∞è¿ƒ. when I drag these into terminal and do a ls -l@ it says no such file or directory. I have never seen anything like this - apparently windows has never run on this machine. Any ideas?
some buggy 3rd party software is known to do that. I've heard some Epson printer drivers can do this and some Adobe apps. harmless but annoying. you can safely trash those folders but they may come back.
Also permissions for all folders at ~ level read drwx------+ - is the + normal for these folders?
yes, that's quite normal. it means ACLs are present. there are "everyone deny delete" ACLs on all those folders. you can list them usong -e switch for ls.

No Audio Pref in /Library/Preferences/Audio

Hello
I have no sound in iChat and can not change the settings in Sound Pref Pane. I read the tips about deleting the files in /Library/Preferences/Audio
My problem is, they don't get built anew.
Any idea?

I have the same issue, my system sounds don't work!
Solutions that I see in the threads and don't work:
1. Check the System Preferences > Sounds > Play user interface sound effects;
2. My volume in "Alert Volume" was in the high level possible;
3. I Delete the /Library/Preferences audio relative files and restart SEVERAL TIMES;
4. PRAM 4 times and nothing;
5. Snow Leopard Cache Cleaner and nothing.
6. Seems that nothing work
The another sounds, like youtube playback and iTunes, QuickTime are all work normally, but the system sounds not.
I try everything! I even reinstall the 10.6.4 update combo with no sucess, please someone help me! All the system sounds: empty trash, move documents, remove application from dock... all that system sounds don't work, only the volume up volume down thing.

Strange, unreadable columns in username/library/preferences folder....?

Hi, I recently was asked to go into this folder, my username/library/preferences, and found a myriad of empty folders with nothing in them. The font beside each folder was completely foreign looking, with symbols unrecognizable....
is my computer corrupted by something?
what should i do? remove them all? or do they have some relation to files, programs....etc..
wildlife

Hi.
I think I know what it is, and it's probably harmless.
Check this out.
Good Luck.

Search doesn't search ~/Library/Preferences and others

Since upgrading to 10.5 I've noticed that Spotlight (as well as doing a normal finder search) doesn't search the ~/Library/Preferences folder (or a lot of other folders as well including Application Support).
For example try to search for com.apple.itunes and nothing will come up.
BUT if you navigate to the Preferences folder and search for com.apple.itunes ONLY in the Preferences folder it will show up.
This kind of ruins the search for me, and forces me to use lame 3rd party search apps.
Does anyone know a way to make Spotlight and the regular finder search, actually search the entire system?
Thanks

smithrj wrote:
Spotlight's settings are in system preferences, you can click them all, no big difference. Spotlight has many limitations, and is not the application it's made out to be. It will find many items, and also skip many. That's it, not so great of news. The index includes all folders, yet some will not display.
Ray
Thanks.
I'm thinking there's gotta be a command-line hack/fix to take care of this issue. I'm sure it annoys a lot of people.
Anyone?

How do I delete home directory /Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash\Player ?

How do I delete<home directory>/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash\Player?

Note that it'll be created over every time you load a Flash object in a Web browser (at least if it has Flash enabled).
The only way to consistently get rid of all its content would be to create an AppleScript, or use Automator to create a workflow that would empty this folder when you close the browser.

SSD/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist Resets After Editing

Hello,
After editing the SSD/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist to fix an issue with my ColorSync profiles (Unable to change profile on external monitor) I lose the settings when I reboot. Here's a more detailed description.
I have an error in Settings - Displays: Can't Callibrate the Display: The factory profile for the display could not be found.
I've been looking for the solution for quite some time.
I installed Mountain Lion to a partition I created inside my SSD and copied all the files over from a fresh install to an external hard drive.
After digging around I found that there's a problem inside my .GlobalPreferences.plist file (Not User, but SSD/Library)
I figured out how to edit the file by either 1) Enabling the root account or 2) Changing the permissions on the folder /Library/Preferences
While looking at the .GlobalPreferences file from the fresh install I can copy the mntr settings to the correct one (Detecting my Acer H233H display) and it works. Until I reboot that is. Then the edits are lost.
I'm not sure why the file isn't saving the state after I edit. I am changing the permissions back to their defaults before I reboot. (Could that be it?)
I have a lot of custom software, plugins etc for work that are very difficult the reinstall. I am trying to avoid that if possible.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

EDIT:
Just tried to edit the file & leave the permissions on SSD/Library/Preferences to User Read, Write, Execute while I rebooted and it still resets to the wrong settings...
That is:
1. I edit the file and it works correctly
2. After I reboot the file resets to the default and I lose the edits and my monitor looks horrible.

Lockfiles persist in ~/Library/Preferences

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