Remove user account and archive as disk image error
Hi guys, I'm having some troubles removing a user from a MacBook running 10.6.6. I want to remove the user and archive their home folder as a disk image (in case I ever need to get access to some of their files in the future). I know it's a fairly straightforward process, I've done it before. I log in as admin, go to system preferences, accounts and then select the account and press the "-" button to remove it. I select the "Save home folder in a disk image" option, and click okay, but all I get is the following error message -
"Unable to delete the user account xxxxx
An error occurred while backing up the user's home folder."
No details as to the error, but the console logs give me this info:
7/02/11 5:28:46 PM [0x0-0x52052].com.apple.systempreferences[756]
2011-02-07 17:28:46.418 writeconfig[763:903] DIHLDiskImageCreate failed: 999 (options:{
I've done this many times before, without a hitch - this one is really giving me grief, so any help would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Matt
Does Disk Utility give your hard drive a clean bill of health?
In any case, I wouldn't try to archive a user's data this way anyway. Far too often I have seen disk images fail to mount with the "no mountable filesystems" error, leaving all the data inside of them irretrievable. It's a much better idea to archive the data into a disk image, and then test that the image correctly mounts, before deleting the user account.
This Terminal command will make a disk image of the user john's home folder and save it in /Users/Shared:
sudo hdiutil create -srcfolder ~john /Users/Shared/john.dmg
Similar Messages
-
User Accounts and ORA-01722: invalid number error
Hello,
I have been using Express for a month or so now but have very limited knowledge of how it works.
My Problem:
I have a listing screen for user records which creates records in table QAS_USERS.
When I add a record it saves the data OK and put the record in the list.
When I click on the record in the list it takes me to the edit screen and I can change
the details and it works OK and all the changes get saved to the database.
On the data entry screen I have a list of the User Groups so I can select what group
the user will be in, usual details in username, fullname, email address, password etc..
I then added a routine to create a USER in the APEX Manage USERs.
It creates the record in my table QAS_USERS and it creates a APEX User Account with
the correct details and the record is displayed in the list.
So far so good.
Now the errors start:
1. When I look at the User Account in Administration -> Manage Application Express Users
most of the details have been added but the User Group does not get allocated.
2. The record I created in QAS_USERS appears in the list on my listing screen but when
I click on the Edit Icon on the left of the list I get the following error appear
when the screen changes to the edit screen:
ORA-01722: invalid number
Unable to fetch row error
QAS_USER Table:
ID NUMBER
CREATED_ON DATE
CREATED_BY VARCHAR2(10)
CHANGED_ON DATE
CHANGED_BY VARCHAR2(10)
ACTIVE VARCHAR2(3)
USERNAME VARCHAR2(10)
FULLNAME VARCHAR2(30)
TEAMLEADER VARCHAR2(3)
TEAMLEADER_ID NUMBER
LAB NUMBER
DIRECTOR VARCHAR2(3)
ACTION_MANAGER VARCHAR2(3)
SDM VARCHAR2(3)
GM VARCHAR2(3)
EMAIL_ADDRESS VARCHAR2(50)
PASSWORD VARCHAR2(12)
SDTL VARCHAR2(3)
FIRSTNAME VARCHAR2(30)
LASTNAME VARCHAR2(30)
GROUP_ID NUMBER
USER_ID VARCHAR2(20)
Process Script to create the Express User Account:
Declare
group_id NUMBER;
BEGIN
group_id := APEX_UTIL.get_group_id (:P15_GROUP_ID);
APEX_UTIL.CREATE_USER (
P_USER_NAME => :P15_USERNAME,
P_FIRST_NAME => :P15_FIRSTNAME,
P_LAST_NAME => :P15_LASTNAME,
P_WEB_PASSWORD => :P15_PASSWORD,
P_EMAIL_ADDRESS => :P15_EMAIL_ADDRESS,
p_developer_privs => 'ADMIN',
p_group_ids => group_id);
END;
If any one has any ideas I would be very grateful.
Regards,
Simon.Hi,
It could be that this is because you are using SYSDATE which contains the time as a fraction rather than TRUNC(SYSDATE) which just contains the current time. It could be that your working_dates_between raises this error.
However, your formula is far more complicated than it needs to be.
Firstly, you want to look at the date window ADD_MONTHS(TRUNC(SYSDATE), -6) to TRUNC(SYSDATE). Then you want to look at the portion of the absence that falls in the date window. This is GREATEST(Absence Attendance.Actual Start Date, ADD_MONTHS(TRUNC(SYSDATE), -6)) to LEAST(NVL(Absence Attendance."Actual End Date",TRUNC(SYSDATE)), TRUNC(SYSDATE)). You may need to add 1 to the absence end date because this is the last day of their absence rather than the date they return. It depends how you calculate the days between the start and end
date of the absence. You can create calculations for the start and end date of the absences within the 6 months time window. Create calculation AbsenceStart as
GREATEST(Absence Attendance.Actual Start Date, ADD_MONTHS(TRUNC(SYSDATE), -6))
and AbsenceEnd as
LEAST(NVL(Absence Attendance."Actual End Date",TRUNC(SYSDATE)), TRUNC(SYSDATE))
Then you need to only pick up absence that a part of the absence in your 6 month date window. You can use a condition in the workbook or a condition in a case statement to do this. You then need to calculate the difference between these dates and SUM all the values.
SUM(CASE WHEN AbsenceEnd >= AbsenceStart THEN WORKING_DAYS_BETWEEN(AbsenceStart, AbsenceEnd) END)
That's it. Not so complicated after all.
Rod West -
Can I put Network Users on a sparse bundle disk image?
Hello! Can anyone out there help me figure out what seems to be a rather complicated feat? I'm trying to get users to log in to client iMacs as if they were local accounts, but the user account information is stored on a sparse bundle disk image.
Long story short, I've currently got OS X Server running network user accounts tied to Active Directory. When the users log in, they have a sparse bundle disk image that automatically mounts on their desktop. This has been an effective solution for some of our software that doesn't play well with Network storage, as the sparse bundle is treated like local storage by the Macs.
However, what would be a much better solution for us is to actually have the whole user account stored on the disk image. It's a little like the way FileVault 1 worked, except the disk image is actually stored on a network drive. So far, as a proof-of-concept, I've been able to make this work manually: I've had to log in to a local admin user and then mount the user's sparse bundle with all their user folder contents contained within. Then, once the user path is changed to point to the disk image, the user logs right in, everything works exactly as expected (once I got the permissions set correctly). This method works exactly like a Network User account except that all the applications see it as local storage instead of network storage.
The trick, though, is automating this process. I want a user to sit down in front of any iMac, log in and go straight to their account. It would be nice if OS X Server was able to accommodate this with a setting, but it doesn't. So, my plan so far has been to create a generic local account with a script on the desktop that users can open to login in. The script would then mount the network share, then mount the sparse bundle disk image, then log the user in to their "local" account on the iMac. When they log out, there's a login hook that restarts the machine.
So far, I'm stumbling over the fact that the sparse bundle unmount when logging out of the generic "login" account, preventing the user from logging in. But if I leave the generic account logged in, then the loginhook to restart the computer doesn't work.
Any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!IIRC, sparse images only grow as things are added, but do not shrink. Create a new one, mount the original, transfer your stuff from the original into the new one, and delete the original one.
-
How to stop the removing a user account and saving the home directory to a disk image?
I tried to delete one of two administers on my iMac (10.10.1). After more than 12 hours it will not let me quit System Preferences for it "is removing a user account and saving the home directory to a disk image". How do I finish deleting the administer and quit System Preferences?
I would recommend asking them in C# forums: https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/vstudio/en-US/home?forum=csharpgeneral&filter=alltypes&sort=lastpostdesc
This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.
Ahmed MALEK
My Website Link
My Linkedin Profile
My MVP Profile -
Creating a new user account and transferring files from old account
I am now having more problems than I can handle with my Leopard installation...problems such as applications that refuse quit no matter what ~ even after attempting force quit them and/or attempting to "sudo kill -9 PID", and now that I am having problems with Adobe Lightroom not even being able to remain open on my user account for more than 10 seconds max before it crashes without provocation (yet runs fine on a troubleshooting account I created on the same machine), I would now like to create a new user account on my MacPro Leopard 10.5.6 and transfer my files from the previous (problematic) user account, but I've never done so in the past...
Can someone give me a basic rundown of how to go about doing this as a means of troubleshooting my current sickly user account (and if you could also please let me know which files I should avoid restoring to the newly created user account so that I don't screw that one up as well, I would appreciate it)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated... Thanks!While logged into the troubleshooting account (assuming that it's an admin account—if not create a new one and log into it), backup the bad account's folder, delete the bad account, selecting the save data option (which is stored in /Users/Deleted Users/ as a disk image), recreate the bad account using the same username/password combo, log out and back into the recreated original account. If the problem's solved, open the saved data dmg file in /Users/Deleted Users/, open the /Library/Preferences/ folder from the saved data, open the current /Users/restored account/Library/Preferences/ folder, and slowly copy plist files from the saved data folder to the current one that don't exist in it. Log out and back in to ensure there's no conflict and things still work correctly. Resolving conflicts or identifying corrupt plist files is a laborious process. Good luck.
See http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4703015 for more details on this process. -
Taking existing Plumtree user accounts and migrating them to existing group
Does anyone know if it is possible through the Local Portal API or the EDK/IDK to take existing Plumtree user accounts and migrate them to existing groups? Any risks in doing this programmatically? Is it best done through the ui manually to maintain referential and database integrity? Just trying to assess risk here and decide if we should build this kind of tool for our customer which they are requesting. Does the Local Portal API or the EDK/IDK provide capability of "adding" a group affiliation to existing Plumtree users or would this be a bad idea?
A network account is really existing only on the server but if you use "portable homefolders" (Tiger client and server) you could "migrate" the local account to a "server" one by:
Login locally as another user with administrative rights.
Change the name of the old account folder in /Users.
Remove the "old" account locally (woun't remove the "old" folder as you changed the name) only Netinfo data.
Login using the serveraccount login/password thus creating a homefolder on the server.
Logout and back in, enable portable homefolder.
Logout and then in as a local admin and remove the new user folder.
Change the name on the old userfolder to what the new one had.
I'm not a 100% sure Netinfo has the server account UID now (added by logging in and creating the portable account?) but if it does:
(http://forums.macosxhints.com/archive/index.php/t-12077.html)
"Finding and changing UIDs across the filesystem is a one-liner command:
sudo find / -user UID -exec chown userName {} \;
(replace UID with the old UID number and userName with the new user name to associate file ownership.)"
(A portable account must have got some "kind" of UID?)
Let the machine "sync" with the server account.
If you want an "on network only" account I don't know what you need to remove locally afterwards.
HTH -
How do I create a new user account and migrate my data to it?
I have problem with Adobe Bridge crashing when I exit Camera Raw. I was advised by my local apple service store to create a new user account and test Bridge using the new account. It works fine. So what do I do now? I don't know what in my account is causing the conflict but assume that the solution might be e newly setup user.
Checking the behaviour in another user account is a TEST, not a solution! You don't need to move everything over. Otherwise, every time you get a user account problem, you'll keep moving to a new user account again and again.
If the problem does not occur in a new user account, then the cause is something IN your user account. This is usually a Preference file. Adobe Bridge seems to crash a lot, and it can usually be fixed by deleting the Bridge folder in <user>/Library/Application Support/Adobe/
You can also try deleting the Bridge preference file, which will be in <user>/Library/Preferences, and called com.adobe.bridge5.plist (or similar).
If that doesn't work, you can test removing a whole bunch of the various Adobe files in those folders. You can always put them back if they don't change anything. And you've got a backup, haven't you? ;-) -
Such apps and settings that apply to icloud, appstore, and itunes. I know the apps will still be in the new account and any other purchased apps will be in the appstore for re-download. But what will happen I delete user accounts and choose not to save any folders or files of the soon to be deleted user accound? I don't have a disk to do a clean install and I'm trying to give my super old macbook pro to a friend and I want to make sure the laptop is his and everything of mine is gone. Will erasing free space do that trick?
If it is not installed in HD>Applications folder and installed in a user account then it's gone with the user account. It's that simple.
-
Mapping NT user accounts and groups in BOXI 3.1.i'm getting below error
Mapping NT user accounts and groups in BOXI 3.1.i'm getting below error
In BOXI 3.1 CMC
.NT Authentication is enabled check box is selected.
In the Mapped NT Member Groups area, entered the NT domain\group in the Add NT Group text box.
like : secWindowsNT:
BLRKEC148827D\BusinessObjects NT Users
getting error like
"The secWindowsNT security plugin is not enabled. Contact your system administrator for details. (FWB 00002) "You shouldn't be using the NT plugin in 3.1, is there a reason you are using this plugin over AD? If you really want to use it you may need to open a case with support and trace the CMS. Are there any groups currently mapped? if you hit update without adding/removing what happens? What if you remove the NT users group and hit update?
Regards,
Tim -
Multiple User Accounts and Migrating from a hard drive from MacBook
After spilling a drink on my old MacBook, which was running a current version of Snow Leopard, I had to pull out my hard drive and migrate my settings and all to a new MacBook Pro. When I first started I didn’t use the set up assistant because I didn’t have a fire wire connection and didn’t realize it was still possible with a USB connection. So I set up a new user account and started to copy files. (ie music, pictures, ect) I then realized I had no idea what I was doing and discovered the Migration Assistant. I ran that and it was great. Everything worked. Problem being, it set up a new user account and duplicated everything I had copied. So now I had 60+GB of duplicated files. Is it possible to remove the bad user account and all files copied into that account? Or should I reset to Manufactures setting? Is that possible?
PNW Sasquatch wrote:
Is it possible to remove the bad user account and all files copied into that account?
Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Sure. Just log on with an account you're going to keep (preferably an Admin account), go to +System Preferences > Accounts+ and select and delete the one in question. You'll get a prompt that allows you to delete the home folder along with it. -
Greetings,
When does one want to Archive a Project versus creating a Disk Image?
Also, once a Project is either Archived or a Disk Image created, is it 'safe' at that point to purge the original file(s) from which the Archive or Disk Image was created?
Thank you!Hi GLT
Welcome to apple discussions. I create a Disk Image so I can lower the burn speed using Roxio Toast. Lower burn speeds tends to improve or insure the best playback possible on a DVD. Once that's completed and I have as many copies as I need then I purge said project from the system. If I need an additional copy at a future date then I use Toast again for an exact copy of the completed DVD.
Archiving is useful for backing up or transferring an iDVD project to another computer. Tends to be very time consuming also since the files are often massive.
You can archive your iDVD project to back it up or transfer it to another computer. This is useful in an environment with several computers, such as a computer lab, where only certain computers contain a SuperDrive for burning DVDs.
Hope this answers your question.
SDMacuser -
Deleting an older user account and migration assistant question
Hello,
So I'm out of the loop big time. I've had my current 17" iMac since 2006 (10.5.8) it's the white border one. Anywho I just got my new 27" i7 iMac and feel really stupid trying to migrate from the old computer to the new one. I couldn't figure it out so had to call Apple help.
First off I put the ethernet cable in the back of both machines thinking it was the Firewire and chose the Firewire option and kept wondering why it wouldn't work. Then it dawns on me I have the ethernet cable in. So I try to transfer that way and get stuck on the Install Mac OSX install disk and install the CD or DVD setup something or other. Well I stick the DVD in my old iMac and open the install disk and see nothing that says CD or DVD setup. I call the Apple line and realize that because my new iMac isn't hooked up to the internet I can't use the ethernet option (okay why I didn't realize that I don't know but it's been a long week and I haven't migrated a computer in a long time).
On top of all that the lady tells me the new iMac has a 800 Firewire and my old one only has a 400 Firewire (so that is why I couldn't get my Firewire 400 cable to work).
So she tells me it will take ages to set up wirelessly but I need to click no and not transfer data to the new iMac, then setup my internet then go back into migration assistant on both machines and click the network option. It is taking ages to do this.
I told her I was on the forums and that doing it this way would create a new user account and she said just to delete the old one once the new one is created. Is it that simple? My old user account is called Pink Tuley and new one is called Tuley. So once the migration is complete (think it's going to take hours on end, my old machine is 160GB with about 140GB of it full) do I just delete the older Pink Tuley account?
Yes, this is a long winded question I know.
Message was edited by: spiralgirlelmac,
I'm currently migrating my old iMac to my new iMac via the internet wirelessly. I did what the Apple support told me to do since I don't want to go out and buy a new Firewire cable (I have a 400 one now and would have to get one that has a 400 and 800 on each end which I could have bought at the store had I known).
Instead I chose not to migrate and set up my iMac with the internet, and now I'm migrating via migration assistant opened up on both machines using using the network option. It's okay if it takes forever to do as I've waited this long (I had to wait 5 weeks for my Macbook Pro HR-AG to arrive).
My old user account is called Pink Tuley and I thought there would be mass confusion if I named the new user account the same name so I chose Tuley for this one. Once I'm all migrated do I just go into the user accounts on my new iMac and delete Pink Tuley?
Message was edited by: spiralgirl -
I changed user account and now Time Machine won't back up.
A few months ago I had a problem with my user account. I can't remember the details but i think it would no longer accept my password. After doing some hunting around for answers i made a new user account with administrative priviledges and transferred all the files over to that account. I also changed the permissions on those files to allow me to access them as a new user identity. For the most part that seems to have worked for me, although possibly i have not done the right thing.
Anyway, i have just realised recently that although the little circular arrow that indicated that Time machine is backing up my files, it hasn't actually made a backup since the end of august, which was possibly when i did this funny thing with my user account.
I am assuming that Time Machine has just got very confused about the disappearance of my files from the previous user account and change of permissions etc.
What can i do? I read on 'pondini.org' that i could reset my time machine by deleting the preferences file from my system library and then rehooking up my external hard drive as the desired backup volume. It would then, i assume make a full backup to begin with?
Any advice gratefully received. I am a graphic designer and i do need to have my files backed up!
thanks
Lesley
ps i had some extra RAM installed a little while before the user account problem and only mentioning it here in case that is an issue with Time Machine as well.Hi Lesely, sadly the great pondini has passed away.
Have you looked through Pondini's extensive TM help site?
http://Pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Can't imagine something not being covered there. -
I just created an Apple Id for my wife and a user account for her. We are on the same computer (iMac). I cant for the love of God get my itunes library to show on her user account on computer. My library shows up under shared library when i select it it just keeps loading and nothing. When i try the hold down option while opening itunes on her user account and then choose library my library doesnt show up as option. What in the world am i doing wrong, why is Apple making this so difficult. We are not going to buy separte computers just to share itunes content. Please help.
You can sync devices with the same iCloud ID, not seperate ones.
If she has a different login on your Mac, make sure she has her own ID defined in System Prefs > iCloud -
My wife and I share an iMac and we each sync to it using separate user accounts and separate Apple IDs. She has an iPad 2 and I have an iPhone 4. We upgraded the mac to Lion and the iphone to OS 5. Now itunes only recognizes my apple id no matter which user is logged in. Now if I download the Home Depot app to my phone it automatically gets pushed to my wife's iPad, which she does not want. We want to keep things separate. How can we do this?
You can sync devices with the same iCloud ID, not seperate ones.
If she has a different login on your Mac, make sure she has her own ID defined in System Prefs > iCloud
Maybe you are looking for
-
Content Assist is not showing the id
My problem is I have a custom componts that created by me. but problem is flash builder is not showing the id of it for cntrol+space -->content Assist here is my layout/architecture Application TabNavigator out bound container(inside application) Nav
-
Function module to get md04 data
I need function module to get below data of the material as per the mrp area. Thanks, Kiran
-
When i play music, it speeds up and skips. also, voice control screen stops music from playing. why?
This is very frustrating as I use the iPod function daily to listen to music while I work out. I don't know what is causing this, and Apple's customer service line won't help me.
-
Why can't I find the Skype app in the Samsung Apps...
I currently have the Samsung UE40D5500 TV and I cannot find the Skype app. Is it not compatible with my TV? Regards
-
Merging cells in JTable...help
Can someone give me some direction into how I can handle this....