Losing Spotlight Privacy Preference

I have noticed on one of my machines (Late 2007 24" iMac w/6GB RAM) that after I set the Privacy Preferences in Spotlight after a couple days the preference is no longer there and I have to reset it.
Specifically when I'm search for something I don't want Spotlight to look on one drive which I use for backing up with SuperDuper. The drive is called SuperDup.
Does anyone have any ideas why Spotlight keeps losing this preference?

Baltwo,
Thanks,
If I understand you correctly if I use that terminal command this will permanently make it so Spotlight won't look at my SuperDup drive?
Also if I wanted to reverse it I would use:
*sudo mdutil -i on /Volumes/SuperDup*
Roger
Message was edited by: rkaufmann87

Similar Messages

Spotlight privacy not working

Spotlight no longer finds many files and e-mails. I tried to see if the spotlight privacy preferences were set incorrectly and discovered that it showed no disks or folders blocked. I tried to add a folder ( both by dragging and by using the + key) but it would not add anything. The privacy settings seem to be inactive. (I am using the adminstrator account.)
Am I missing something?
Thanks for your help.
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Perhaps indexing has been switched off for the volumes in question (somehow)?
Try this via the Terminal:
sudo mdutil -s /Volumes/*YOUR VOLUME NAME*
E.g. (the \ before the space is important):
sudo mdutil -s /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD
If that says "Indexing Disabled" try switching it back on with:
sudo mdutil -i on /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD
Hopefully it'll find your missing results once its finished indexing, and you should be able to control that volume's privacy again using the preferences. Repeat for any other volumes that don't seem to be behaving.
Dual 2GHz PowerMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.3) 2GB, ATI X800 XT, BT, AE.

Can't remove folders from Spotlight Privacy

Hi there,
I've never posted on here before so please bear with me
I am running a 17" iMac with OSX10.9.5, 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 667 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM with over 100GB of free space.
I am also using DropBox to sync my files with a co-worker.
The problem: A few months ago I got access to a new database on DropBox. I didn't use it often so I added the folders to my Spotlight Privacy list but then unsynced the DropBox folder from my computer. Now I have RE-synced the original folders and have tried NUMEROUS times to remove them from the list. They disappear briefly to only reappear a few seconds later.
I need to be able to search these folders again so this is very frustrating at the moment.
I have tried dragging in the same folders and then removing them. I have tried dragging my hard drive into the privacy and then removing prompting the spotlight to index the computer but that doesn't seem to be working either. I tried the command sudo rm -rf /.Spotlight-V100/* in Terminal, but again. They still reappear.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks so much in advance!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

Do a backup.
Quit the application.
Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Select Library. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.spotlight.plist. Move the .plist to your desktop.
Restart, open the application and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.
If the application is the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer one.
Thanks to leonie for some information contained in this.

Can't add any folder to the Spotlight Privacy tab

I cannot drag any folder to the spotlight privacy tab or use "+" to add a folder to the privacy tab. Is there any option I could have inadvertently set to have done this? I have tried this on another account on my powerbook and I get the same result.
Thanks

That is generally a problem if you have ever used any of the Terminal commands of mdutil to change something having to do with Spotlight. You could take a look at this article:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/stopspotlightindex.html
You could try using the Terminal to re-index drive and see if the Privacy function recovers, or try deleting the preferences for Spotlight if you had not done any Terminal commands before. The preference is here:
"/Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/com.apple.spotlight.plist"
Remove it and log out and back in or restart and see if the Privacy function starts working again.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Spotlight: "Privacy List Error: ... couldn't be added ... unknown error"

G'day all. I'm having a spotlight problem and I'd be very grateful for any help.
In short:
Spotlight refuses to index one of my partitions, and both the Privacy "trick" in System Preferences to force a re-index, plus using mdutil in the terminal, both produce unknown errors.
If anyone has any ideas, please help!
More information if you're interested:
I have my hard drive partitioned into two, one for the OS the other for my home folder. I've used the advanced settings in the System Preferences > Accounts to tell my user account to find my home folder on the second partition.
Spotlight refuses to work with the home folder volume.
When I try to go into System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy and add the offending volume to that, I get a message saying "Privacy List Error: The item couldn't be added or removed because of an unknown error."
If in Terminal I try the following:
mdutil -sv /Volumes/David/
I get back:
/volumes/David:
Indexing disabled.
I try:
mdutil -v -i on /Volumes/David/
I get back:
/volumes/David:
Error: unable to perform operation. (-1)
Indexing disabled.
I've tried the above statements both logged in as root as well as logged in as me.
I've also tried Spotless and get an equally unhelpful "unknown error".
Usually when updating my system I just do an upgrade install, and admittedly this has left a lot of legacy stuff lying around over the years, and various problems have been building recently, including this one, so a few weeks ago I bit the bullet and gave my system a full clean out:
I swapped my existing hard drive for a new one, formatted the new one, set up the partitions afresh, did a clean install (from the 10.5.4 discs that came with my MacBook Pro), then software updated everything (up to 10.5.6), and then clean reinstalled most of my applications, and manually dragged all my personal stuff back in from the original hard drive (which now is sitting in an external case as a backup in case I realise I've forgotten to transfer something, down the track).
All my other problems have gone away and my system is snappier than it's been in a long time, which is great (and not unexpected!), but this spotlight problem persists. I'm usually pretty clued up with Mac stuff and am generally comfortable in the Terminal but this one's got me stumped. If anyone can help me figure out what is causing this error, I'd be most grateful.
Thanks!

Thanks V.K. for the suggestions. I've just tried all that, but unfortunately it has not changed the situation.
System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy, and mdutil both still give the same results as before.
A bunch more info in case it's relevant/helpful:
1. The volume in question IS my home folder. ie. the path to my home folder as defined in the Advanced Settings part of System Preferences > Accounts is "/Volumes/David/" (and yes the volume name is "David" with a capital "D"). I mention all that so I can ask is there any problem with having my home folder = a volume? I can't see any reason why this shouldn't work, and for what it's worth this spotlight problem is only recent whereas I've been using this set up ever since I got Leopard on the day it originally came out (and spotlight had been working fine for months until recently).
2. I wonder if there's something else on that volume that's causing problems, or some permissions issue? If it might be any use in diagnosing this issue, here's some ls's:
%ls-al /Volumes/
drwxrwxrwt@ 6 root admin 204 8 Mar 04:15 .
drwxrwxr-t 34 root admin 1224 7 Mar 22:43 ..
-rw-rw-rw-@ 1 david admin 6148 3 Mar 17:45 .DS_Store
drwxrwxr-x 35 root admin 1258 8 Mar 04:15 David
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root admin 1 8 Mar 04:15 MBP15 -> /
...and...
%ls -al /Volumes/David/
drwxrwxr-x 35 root admin 1258 8 Mar 04:15 .
drwxrwxrwt@ 6 root admin 204 8 Mar 04:15 ..
-rw------- 1 david admin 3 4 Feb 23:48 .CFUserTextEncoding
-rw-r--r--@ 1 david admin 15364 7 Mar 23:08 .DS_Store
drwxrwxrwt@ 3 david admin 102 5 Feb 19:57 .TemporaryItems
drwx------ 2 david admin 68 8 Mar 04:15 .Trash
d-wx-wx-wt@ 2 root _unknown 68 8 Mar 04:17 .Trashes
-rw------- 1 david admin 66 3 Mar 17:12 .bash_history
drwxr-xr-x 6 david admin 204 3 Mar 17:15 .bin
-rw-r--r-- 1 root admin 0 4 Feb 23:52 .com.apple.timemachine.supported
drwx------ 3 david admin 102 5 Feb 12:59 .cups
drwx------ 5 root _unknown 170 7 Mar 20:02 .fseventsd
-rw------- 1 david admin 2871 8 Mar 04:13 .history
-rw------- 1 david admin 35 7 Mar 23:31 .lesshst
-rwxr-----@ 1 david admin 177 23 Feb 01:39 .login
-rwxr-----@ 1 david admin 181 23 Feb 01:39 .profile
drwx------ 3 david admin 102 6 Feb 09:35 .ssh
-rwx---r-x@ 1 david staff 2578 3 Mar 17:52 .tcshrc
drwxr-xr-x 12 david admin 408 7 Mar 16:23 Applications
drwx------+ 16 david admin 544 7 Mar 16:26 Desktop
-rw-r--r--@ 1 root admin 5632 28 Feb 03:12 Desktop DB
-rw-r--r--@ 1 root admin 2 24 Feb 14:58 Desktop DF
drwx------+ 11 david admin 374 5 Mar 05:12 Documents
drwx------+ 30 david admin 1020 8 Mar 04:06 Downloads
drwxr-xr-x+ 51 david admin 1734 7 Mar 00:27 Library
-rw-rw-r-- 1 david admin 21987676160 23 Feb 21:53 MBP15 20090223.sparseimage
drwx------+ 7 david admin 238 5 Feb 22:00 Movies
drwx------+ 5 david admin 170 5 Feb 00:06 Music
drwx---r-x@ 44 david admin 1496 1 Mar 01:51 MyStuff
drwx------+ 17 david admin 578 17 Feb 19:22 Pictures
drwxr-xr-x+ 5 david admin 170 4 Feb 23:20 Public
drwxr-xr-x+ 5 david admin 170 4 Feb 23:20 Sites
drwxr-xr-x 12 david admin 408 3 Mar 17:15 •David
3. here's an interesting entry from the console at the point where I tried to add the volume to System Preference > Spotlight > Privacy:
mds[32] nosymlink_mkdir() unable to realpath or parent paths do not match p:/Volumes/David/.Spotlight-V100: r:/volumes/David:
4. I notice that when I do that (add the volume) it gives the error message I originally explained ("couldn't be added or removed because of an unknown error"), and adds the above line to the console, but otherwise it appears that nothing has changed (ie. it doesn't show in the list).
If I then quit system preferences, reopen it, and go back into that Privacy tab the volume IS there in the list. If I then try to remove it, I get the same error message and console message, and again nothing appears to happen, but then if I quit system preferences again and then go back into it, the volume is no longer in the list.
There is definitely something weird going on here.
Any other thoughts?
Thanks again!
David.

IChat privacy preferences??

Hi. I've been using iChat for a couple of years on this computer. I haven't altered any settings (to my knowledge!).
Today I tried to use it but the person was listed as offline - but they were online and on their iChat I was showing up as offline.
I tried to send a text chat - the text chat window opened but when I went to send the text I got the message "Your privacy preferences are set so they prevent you from communicating with this person"
There was no connection problem with my internet as I was able to send emails and connect to web pages.
Really strange. Would appreciate any advice. I haven't changed internet providers. I upgraded my plan the other day but I don't know if this would have changed anything.
Cheers

Hi,
Have you checked your Block list ?
It is in iChat menu > Preferences > Accounts > AIM/Apple account > Security Settings
The Allow options can also effect things.
If this appears to be OK and you have managed to access the Preferences go to the Server Settings and change the port to 443 (Some modem and routers do not like the fact iChat uses port 5190 on TCP to login and UDP to get some Buddy List feedback and certain Text chats and File Sending) You have to be Off Line to do this.
If that does not work go to your Home Folder/Library/Preferences (Spotlight does not look in here so you have to click through the folders.
Delete com.apple.ichat.AIM.plist and restart iChat
Let us know how you get on.
A Note:
By default the Apple Discussions set your status to Subscribe to every thread you post in.
You get an Email for every new post that is made.
It is the same for the Original Poster.
But he will now be getting emails about a thread he has marked as Answered.
The Terms of Use do allow for "Me too" posts but also strongly suggest starting your own tread.
As even "Me too" posts can actually be different it also means I can end up having about five conversations in some threads (I struggle after this number) so it is worth checking if a thread Is Finished before posting.
Hope this helps.
9:30 PM Wednesday; February 25, 2009

Can't open Security & Privacy preference pane?...please help.

Hi All,
I would be grateful if anyone could assist... I can't seem to open the security & privacy preference pane. I receive the following "Preferences Error" upon trying to click the icon in my system preferences:
First click: You can’t open Security & Privacy preferences because it doesn’t work on an Intel-based Mac.
Second click: Could not load Security & Privacy preference pane.
I noticed the issue this past week when I installed some monitor callibration software. After downloading, the software's interface text did not load (it was simply blank for the drop down menus). The manufacturer tried to help me by clearing font cache and such, but that was not the issue. When he next directed me to the S&P pane, that's when I noticed I couldn't open it to adjust anything.
* I did go into Users & Groups and created a new admin user. I was then able to open the Security & Privacy pane, and load the monitor calibration software without any problems, so it seems to be a user issue I suppose? Tried to trash some security preferences, reinstalled 10.8.2, but with no luck.
Thanks for your assistance!

Try booting into the Safe Mode. Shut down the computer and then power it back up. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This does some maintenance routines and 3rd party applications don't load. Sometimes 3rd party applications are the problem. If your normal user account works in Safe Mode, it is probably a 3rd part application.
Safe Mode
Safe Mode - About
General information.
Isolating issues in Mac OS X
Troubleshooting Permission Issues
Step by Step to Fix Your Mac

Why is my privacy preference blank in Safari 5.1

Why is my privacy preference blank in Safari 5.1. There is no way to manage cookies. It appears on my iMac but not my Macbook. Any imput on the issue appreciated.

Safari preferences in Version 5.1 (6534.50) with respect to cookies have changed with this latest update. In July, the last time I reviewed cookies saved in Safari, I was able to delete cookies individually. This no longer appears to be possible in the latest update.
In the Preferences > Privacy pane, there is a button "Remove All Website Data" which applies to "Cookies and other website data." I don't want to use this. I want to retain some cookies but not others. Under the "Remove all" button is another one, "Details" that applies to "[This many] websites stored cookies or other data." Clicking "Details" reveals a pane that shows all the website domains that stored data in Safari. Unlike the previous version of Safari, however, the pane does not show individual cookies set by the domains. It is possible only to review all the cookies set by a domain or none of them. This is a disadvantage. I very much prefer the previous version.
Another change, I think (not sure), is that in the latest Safari, private browsing no longer appears to block new cookies. In the Safari help file, the Browsing privately page shows the following statement:
"When Private Browsing is on, webpages are not added to the history list, the names of downloads are removed from the Downloads window after downloading is complete, AutoFill information isn’t saved, and searches are not added to the pop-up menu in the search field. Websites that store databases on your computer can’t modify the databases, so services normally available at such sites may work differently until you turn off Private Browsing. Any changes made to cookies are discarded when you turn off Private Browsing."
The last sentences, in fact, imply, by omission, that new cookies may be added to Safari, even though private browsing is turned on.
For these reason, I have abandoned Safari, and I will now use Firefox, which continues to allow reviewing and editing of the complete cookie list. If Apple reconsiders and makes it possible again to review all cookies individually, I will return to using Safari
If someone know of a way to review cookies individually in the current version of Safari, please let me know. Or if I am incorrect about what the latest version of Safari permits with respect to cookies, kindly correct me.

Firefox no longer gives automatic prompts when I type in first few letters of a search - even though my browsing history is being recorded, and "Remember search and form history" is ticked in the Privacy preferences: what's gone wrong?

Firefox has recently stopped giving (personalised) automatic prompts when I type in the first few letters of a search. What does come up is a long list of possible search subjects - but these are very general and don't reflect my own personal browsing history. My browsing history IS being recorded, however, and the "Remember search and form history" box is ticked in the Privacy preferences.
I'm not using the "Private Browsing" option.
There are two MacBooks in the house, sharing one wireless router. This problem has cropped up on both laptops - mine and my wife's - at around the same time.

Start Firefox in <u>[[Safe Mode]]</u> to check if one of the extensions or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox (Tools) > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).
*Don't make any changes on the Safe mode start window.
*https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+Mode

Security and Privacy Preferences pane cannot load

My mac says the security and privacy preferences pane cannot load. How do I access this pane? I just got my logic board replaced last week from Apple, if that helps.

Hi hornetlove2,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
I understand that you are unable to open Security & Privacy from System Preferences. To begin the troubleshooting process, I would first suggest testing this situation out in a new user to help isolate the issue. Please let me know if the issue continues in a new user account.
Isolating an issue by using another user account - Apple Support
Best regards,
Joe

How to see /Volumes in spotlight privacy?

I'd like to stop the OS from copying various hidden files and folders in any USB. So, I want to put /Volumes in spotlight privacy section. But it's not visible, I'm guessing it's hidden and not sure how to un-hide it.
Thanks.

You could delete them manually. You can reveal all hidden files either by inspecting them in Terminal or unhiding them from Finder. To do the latter, copy and paste this into Terminal.app
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE; killall Finder
This will reveal ALL hidden files in all volumes, so be careful what you delete. To hide hidden files run the same command again but replace 'TRUE' with 'FALSE'.

Location Service in security and privacy preference pane not saved

Hi,
When I want to activate the location service inside the security and privacy preference pane, it is not save. I can check the box but if I leave the pref pane, and come back, it is still uncheck.
I notice that when I wanted to activate the icloud feature: localized my mac. Thus, it's not working due to my pref in privacy pane not saved.
I notice as well that in safari, there is a location option as well, and I can't activate it, like iCloud feature due to my pref in privacy always unchecked.
I tried to repair the authorization of my disk a couple of times
Is someone experiencing the same issue ?

The terms of service of the Apple Support Communities prevent us (Apple users) from speculating about why Apple does or does not take certain actions.
I can't tell you why it is the way it is. But I can say you could go a long way to alleviating your concern by going to System Preferences > Energy Saver and changing the sleep time such that your computer goes to sleep nearly immediately after you stop using it. Then even if you forget to log off, your computer will very quickly go to sleep and require a password.

Security & Privacy preference pane not opening

All of my system preferences panes work except Security & Privacy. This has been broken since installing 10.9.0 and 10.9.1 hasn't fixed it. Pane tries to open then gives the error, "There was an error in Security & Privacy preference pane." Looked through other posts for solutions but nothing seems to work. Tried creating a new user account, deleting caches, systempreferences.plist. Took into Apple Store and they suggested restoring from TimeMachine backup but that did not fix it. Been dealing with this for a while but now I really need to install an unsigned app and can't get to the security pane to allow it.

Our preference panes seem to be identical.
There are two other things you might want to investigate:
1) Although this is unlikely, look in /Library/PreferencePanes to see if for some reason there might be another copy of Security.prefPane.
2) Another possibility may be that a settings file is corrupted. One such file seems to be in your account's Library folder. In the Finder hold down an "option" key while you pull down the "Go" menu, then select "Library". In the resulting window open "Preferences". Find the file com.apple.systempreferences.plist. With System Preferences not running, drag that file to the Desktop. Then see if you can access the Security & Privacy panel.

Safari will not prevent search engine from providing suggestions, even though that block is checked in Privacy preferences.

Safari will not prevent search engine from providing suggestions, even though that block is checked in Privacy preferences.

I also seem to have having this problem, despite having checked the "prevent" option in Preferences. Typing words into the Safari search bar (NOT the Google search bar on one of Google's search pages) leads to suggestions being made:
as well as connections being made to lhr14s21-in-f7.1e100.net:
which http://66.161.36.140 suggests resolves to a Google IP address block.
I'm using Safari Version 6.0.4 (8536.29.13) on Mac OS 10.8.3.

How to force unlock Security & Privacy Preferences

Have no password on my Mac (only temp) but cannot unlock Security and Privacy Preferences. Need to turn off firewall to load App.

You are welcome.
Since Yosemite, Apple seems to have gone to requiring a password.

Losing Spotlight Privacy Preference

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for