Repair permissions differences

Hi,
What are the differences of repair permissions from Applications/utility/disk utility and from system DVD?
only special permission? i think is better do it from system because is more upgrade. what do you think about?

Most of the time what Malcolm said is correct. Use the Disk Utility on your hard drive. However, the key is if there is a difference in the version of Disk Utility on your installer disc and the version on your hard drive. If the versions are the same then it makes no difference whether you repair permissions using DU on the hard drive or on the installer disc.
There should be little need to repair permissions. However, some software writers create poorly written software or poorly written installers that somehow figure out how to make a mess of your permissions. If you have no problems launching applications or accessing files then it's unlikely there are any serious permission related problems.
A good precaution before doing any system updates either through Software Update or using standalone updaters is to repair the hard drive and permissions before updating. You must boot the computer from the OS X installer disc (or another hard drive) in order to repair the hard drive. It's usually more convenient to repair permissions at the same time. Generally this is not a problem.

Similar Messages

  • Repair Permissions differences between Onyx and Disk Utility

    If I repair permissions, there are a large number of 'repaired permissions' if I switch between using Onyx (10.6) and Disk Utility. Most of them are in
    System / Library / CoreServices
    System / Library / Java
    System / Library / Frameworks
    Why should this be? It makes me think that either Onyx or Disk Utility is doing it wrong. If I had to back which one it is, I'd have to say Onyx is the likeliest suspect. In other words should I avoid using Onyx to repair permissions and just use DU in future?

    should I avoid using Onyx to repair permissions and just use DU in future?
    Probably, but some permission results are always and repetitively wrong:
    As long as the report ends up with 'Permissions repair complete' then, as far as permissions go, you are fine. You can ignore the various statements in the report:
    Permissions you can ignore on 10.5 onwards:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448
    Using 'should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r--' as an example, you will see the that the permissions are not changed, but the | indicates a different location. This is because an update to Leopard onwards changed the location of a number of system components.

  • Difference between "Verify" and "Repair" Permissions?

    Hi,
    I was wondering if there's any harm for the reapair permissions proccess by clicking the "repair" permissions button first rather than clicking the "verify" and then "Repair" permissions button on disk utility.
    Thanks!

    Niel wrote:
    There isn't. Verify permissions is a waste of time.
    (58626)
    I thought the same, since DU will tell you in the progress screen when you hit repair permissions something like "Verifying and Repairing Permissions on Macintosh HD... and so forth" So I should be ok by just hitting the repair permission button ony, right?
    Roger Wilmut1 wrote:
    It's what I do and I should think everyone else. 'Verify' doesn't actually do anything, just lists problems, so there's little point. It's different with disk repair, because you can't repair the disk you're booted from, but you can at least check to see if there's a problem. This doesn't apply with permissions.
    So in your view Verify is just a diagnostic, while Repair is a diagnostic and a repair right?

  • Disk utility won't repair permissions (related to error -8003)

    I have an odd, recurring problem I can't diagnose. Recently my seven-month-old MacBook Pro has begun showing an error code (-8003) when I try to do common, system-related things like empty the Trash. At the same time, Time Machine stops backing up and Disk Utility can't repair permissions. If I go into System Preferences I can't open the lock to make changes, even though my account is still clearly marked as the Admin account. All third-party applications run fine, so I can't quite figure out what's going on.
    I've tried repairing the disk via TechTool to see if there was directory damage and it checks out fine. I've reformatted my TM backup disk with Disk Utiity according to Apple's instructions, used the Terminal to ensure my Trash and old TM files were properly deleted, etc. Nothing seems to have made a difference.
    When I restart the problem goes away for a couple of hours and then – at some point that I haven't been able to identify – the problem starts up again. This is the case whether I'm working on the MacBook or if it's just sitting there idle.
    Before I reinstall I wondered if anyone had run into a similar problem and had figured out what caused it.

    error code (-8003) when I try to do common, system-related things like empty the Trash
    That's a common symptom of throwing stuff from a Time Machine backup into the trash in the Finder, which is a big no-no and can irreversibly corrupt your backup.  In the Terminal, type the following command:
    sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/*
    Copy and paste that!  Don't try to re-type it, I've seen people put a space in the wrong place and wipe their whole user folder.  Type your password when prompted, and expect that nothing will show until you hit return.
    Next, repair your Time Machine backup according to:
    http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/A5.html
    At the same time, Time Machine stops backing up
    If the above troubleshooting doesn't fix your backup, you may have damaged it beyond repair.  In that case, you'll have to erase it and start your backups over from scratch.
    Disk Utility can't repair permissions
    Where are you trying to repair permissions?  Note that repairing permissions is only meaningful on a drive with a system installed on it, and only repairs permissions on a specific subset of the stuff on the drive.  Also, note that there are permissions messages you can safely ignore...  if you think it is failing because you're seeing them over and over, it's not failing.
    If I go into System Preferences I can't open the lock to make changes, even though my account is still clearly marked as the Admin account.
    I've never seen that before, and it may indicate you have much more serious problems with your computer.  First, try repairing your hard drive with Disk Utility.  Then trash the System Preferences preference file, located at:
    ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist
    ...where '~' means "your home folder".

  • What is the correct procedure for repairing permissions

    I am getting ready to upgrade to Tiger from Panther. I have used the disk utility to repair permissions after an upgrade or hardware addition. I have always done it using the disk utility and not from a boot up on the OS install dvd.
    Is there a difference? I notice that if I do a repair permissions 2 or 3 times in a row that some of the same permissions are repaired again and again.
    Thanks for any info!
    Ymir

    I notice that if I do a repair permissions 2 or 3 times in a row that some of the same permissions are repaired again and again.
    I assume you are referring to the log entries which contain "We are using special permissions..."
    If so, you can safely ignore those messages. They are purely informational. This is not indicative of a permissions problem.
    There is also no need to repair permissions while booted from the system DVD. Running it the way you are is fine, and you should only need to do it when you have a problem with your machine resulting from improperly set permissions.

  • Repair Permissions does nothing?

    I run Verify Permissions regularly, after I run verify, I usually get a few hundred entries needing repair (....should be...). So I hit Repair Permissions and it reports back the permissions were repaired. So I restart my Mac and do a "verify" again, and I get the exact same number of entries that need repair.
    Does anyone know what the actual purpose is and why Verify/Repair Permissions even exists in the first place since it appears to do nothing other than tell me I have a bunch (hundreds) wrong permissions that it's can't seem to correct??
    Rob

    Rob A. wrote:
    I run Verify Permissions regularly,
    Why?
    after I run verify,
    Oh wait, I missed that. Why Verify and not just Repair?
    I usually get a few hundred entries needing repair
    Do they need repair, or are they just being flagged as different from the current database?
    (....should be...). So I hit Repair Permissions and it reports back the permissions were repaired.
    Or does it just repair the ones that needed repairing?
    So I restart my Mac
    No need to do that.
    and do a "verify" again, and I get the exact same number of entries that need repair.
    Does anyone know what the actual purpose is and why Verify/Repair Permissions even exists in the first place since it appears to do nothing other than tell me I have a bunch (hundreds) wrong permissions that it's can't seem to correct??
    As the operating system changes, the database is not updated to reflect those changes. Repair permissions sees these differences and notes them, but doesn't know how to handle them. It rightfully just leaves them alone.
    When enough people who repair permissions when they don't need to report these anomalies to Apple, Apple gets around to posting a [Support Article|http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448] telling everyone that you can just ignore those errors. The SUID errors should be checked against Apple's document to verify that something else isn't writing those permissions nefariously.

  • Repair permissions - always the same ones need repairing (Shockwave)

    Each time I do a Repair Permissions after doing an installation (in this case Security 008 update for Intel on my MBP) the same permissions always are repaired and ONLY these. Here's the report I always get:
    Permissions differ on ./Library/Application Support/Macromedia/Shockwave 10/Shockwave 10 Preferences, should be -rwxrwxr-x , they are -rw-rw-r--
    Owner and group corrected on ./Library/Application Support/Macromedia/Shockwave 10/Shockwave 10 Preferences
    Permissions corrected on ./Library/Application Support/Macromedia/Shockwave 10/Shockwave 10 Preferences
    Does this seem logical? correct?
    I know they are repaired since when I go to do the next installation and begin by Repairing Permissions, nothing needs repairing. Yet I know that after another installation the Shockwave permission differences will rear their heads again.
    I do know tht Shockwave is an Adobe thing and I believe it is needed for Quicktime. Could there be something wrong with my Shockwave - or is this typical of Adobe products?
    Thanks,
    Mrs H

    Mrs H wrote:
    Each time I do a Repair Permissions after doing an installation (in this case Security 008 update for Intel on my MBP) the same permissions always are repaired and ONLY these. Here's the report I always get:
    Permissions differ on ./Library/Application Support/Macromedia/Shockwave 10/Shockwave 10 Preferences, should be -rwxrwxr-x , they are -rw-rw-r--
    Owner and group corrected on ./Library/Application Support/Macromedia/Shockwave 10/Shockwave 10 Preferences
    Permissions corrected on ./Library/Application Support/Macromedia/Shockwave 10/Shockwave 10 Preferences
    Does this seem logical? correct?
    I know they are repaired since when I go to do the next installation and begin by Repairing Permissions, nothing needs repairing. Yet I know that after another installation the Shockwave permission differences will rear their heads again.
    I do know tht Shockwave is an Adobe thing and I believe it is needed for Quicktime. Could there be something wrong with my Shockwave - or is this typical of Adobe products?
    Thanks,
    Mrs H
    So, I have now updated the Security Update 008 on the G4 and guess what, the same Shockwave Repair permission issue. It DID NOT appear when I repaired permissions before and after the other updates (Java, QuickTime, Migration DVDCD..., etc) But Shockwave repairs did appear after Security 008.
    I found this link to another thread here on Security 008 and Shockwave. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8699716&#8699716
    ...but, I don't know if this is my problem.
    In any case, I just have to update iTunes (only on G4) and Safari (on all my Macs) and then I'm good to go - or at least good to go and figure out what is wrong with Shockwave!
    Oh one more update to do - a casual remark I made in reply to another poster has led me to learn that I can update my Appleworks 6 and get it to work in X. Hurrah!
    Mrs H

  • DiskUtility  cannot repair Permission difference: applications/Safari and freezes

    DiskUtility  cannot repair Permission difference: applications/Safari and freezes.
    The message I receive is:
    "Permissions differ on "Applications/Safari.app/contents/Resources....sources/index-html"
    should be: lrwxr-xr-x
    They are: -rwxr-xr-x.
    This is a brand new computer.
    DiskUtility keeps running for hours and then just freezes the PC
    Please I need assistance
    Sally

    Although it’s immensely popular, repairing permissions is a waste of time unless you have a specific indication of a permission error involving system files, which is rare, or a startup failure. It is not a universal rite of healing for computers. It has traditionally spewed bogus warning messages that mean absolutely nothing.
    The built-in help for Disk Utility reads in part:
    If you see an alert or a message that says your permissions are set incorrectly, you can correct the disk’s permissions by clicking Repair Disk Permissions.
    It’s justifiable, though rarely necessary, to repair permissions after running a third-party software installer, as defective installers have been known to damage the permissions of system files.

  • Repair Permissions strangeness

    My MacPro just quit while I was working in Photoshop. No error, just exit to a blue screen. Restarted the computer and immediately did a repair permissions. In the repair log, I must have had a thousound lines of this kind of code....
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/CodeResources", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/CodeResources", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/DotMacKit", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/DotMacKit", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/English .lproj/InfoPlist.strings", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/English .lproj/InfoPlist.strings", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/English .lproj", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/English .lproj", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Info.pl ist", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Info.pl ist", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/version .plist", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Frameworks/DotMacKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/version .plist", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Info.plist", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/Info.plist", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/MacOS/QuickTime Player", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/MacOS/QuickTime Player", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/MacOS", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/MacOS", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PkgInfo", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PkgInfo", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/CodeResources ", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/CodeResources ", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/Info.plist", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/Info.plist", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/MacOS/Annotat ionInspector", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/MacOS/Annotat ionInspector", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/MacOS", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/MacOS", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/Resources/Eng lish.lproj/Annotation.nib/classes.nib", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/Resources/Eng lish.lproj/Annotation.nib/classes.nib", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/Resources/Eng lish.lproj/Annotation.nib/info.nib", should be 0, user is 501.
    Group differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/Resources/Eng lish.lproj/Annotation.nib/info.nib", should be 80, group is 501.
    User differs on "Applications/QuickTime Player.app/Contents/PlugIns/AnnotationInspector.propPane/Contents/Resources/Eng lish.lproj/Annotation.nib/keyedobjects.nib", should be 0, user is 501.
    Last week I upgraded to the latest version of QT, but things had been running fine until today. As I say, there must have been 1000 of these errors in the log and all of them had to do with QT.
    Anybody know what's going on here?
    Message was edited by: Diann D. Martin

    Note: For years, standard POSIX permissions did a good job of defining access to our files and folders. But as our needs have become more complex, operating systems have begun implementing access control lists to help handle things. When Apple shipped Mac OS X 10.4, they added a robust granular permissions model. Unfortunately, only Mac OS X Server ships with a GUI for manipulating these permissions.
    Access control lists are an integral part of Leo, and since their settings override posix permission settings, ignoring them is not going to be possible if you are going to continue use Leo (or any other modern OS for that matter).
    The one and only ACL GUI interface available to help users of the standard version of Leo is "SandBox", fortunately it is free and now (as of version 2.2) is a reasonably easy to use program with decent help included.
    Leo users: Do yourself a favor and learn about ACL's, they are not going away.
    Actually a very good article on ACL's is available from microsoft. It is called:
    How to shoot yourself in the foot with security, part 2 to ACL or not to ACL;
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc512610.aspx
    Although due to OS differences, not everything mentioned may apply to Leo, but still has loads of good info including a very detailed explanation of the "deny everyone delete" ACL used extensively in Leo.
    enjoy
    Kj

  • Repair Permissions with/without Tiger disk?

    I was wondering what the best way is to repair permissions. Should one repair them booting off the Tiger disk or can one just open disk utility and repair the permissions while running on their hard drive?
    Also, my new iMac came with two disks. I also have a Tiger disk from when I purchased Tiger for my PowerBook. If it is necessary to repair permissions from the disk, which disk should I use? Can I use the Tiger disk or should I use one of the disks that came with my iMac?
    Thanks!

    Regarding your first question, it makes no difference so there isn't any need to boot from the install disc to repair disk permissions.
    Regarding your second question, the same applies but you should use the Tiger install package that shipped with your new iMac to run repair disk via Disk First Aid when booted from the iMac's install disc on your iMac's boot volume which is much more important than repairing disk permissions.
    The Tiger retail install package is not Universal - it is for a Mac with a PPC processor only and your new iMac has an Intel processor.
    Check this link for system troubleshooting procedures which includes running repair disk, repairing disk permissions and system and user cache cleaning.
    http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/repairprocess.html
    And this link for recommended maintenance for OS X which isn't much focusing on the Maintenance Myths section.
    http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/maintainingmacosx.html
    And this link about running repair disk via Disk First Aid.
    http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/durepairfns.html

  • Repair Disk  / Repair Permissions -- which first

    If I want to run repair permissions or repair disk, which should I do first?
    Does it matter?

    "Repair disk" makes modifications to the structure of data on the disk itself. If there is an error, this really needs to be done first since the errors could manifest themselves as botched permissions, mangled files, etc. If the disk's integrity is actually compromised, the highest priority is to repair it. One thing to keep in mind is that certain repairs cannot be made on a mounted disk (such as the one you boot from), so for the disk repair procedure to work, you should boot of another disk (your OS installation disk, a bootable external hard disk, etc.). Even then, Apple's disk repair is curiously basic -- there's many errors it simply does not detect or fix and for that you need something like DiskWarrior. Mind you, disk errors like that shouldn't occur, and if they do you may have hardware issues to be concerned about.
    "Repair permissions" compares file ownership and permissions in a directory to a list stored in the package bundles in /Library/Receipts. If there's a difference between what it finds in the file list stored in the receipt package, and the files on disk, it attempts to set the permissions and ownership of the file to what appears in the list (which should reflect the state of the file when installed). It doesn't do anything at all to preferences, user preferences, user files, logs, file created after and application is installed, etc.
    Contrary to popular belief, repairing permissions doesn't generally do much for you. It should be pretty rare that it finds a difference unless you've really been mucking about, and generally when it does find something it's either because you explicitly changed the permissions or because there's some other problem where an application or disk issue is changing the permissions. The one time where it really makes sense, actually, is after you repair a disk issue.
    It's common advice that people tell you to repair permissions as a step to address problems, but mostly because it's an easy thing to do. Similarly, zapping your PRAM is frequently advised when trouble-shooting, though the process of a cold-boot (complete power-off, then power back on a few seconds later) is generally the portion of that procedure that actually produces the desired result.

  • Repairing permissions hangs with 1 minute to go

    Having sleep problems on a new 10.5.2 MacBook. Decided to repair permissions and then do Combo updater to 10.5.4
    The bar gets to about 20% with 1 minute remaining and then it seemingly hangs - though you can see the bar pulsating.
    I tried just verifying permissions and the same thing happens.
    Tried verifying the disk and all is well.

    Charlie,
    Thanks. After posting I found a forum that said to have patience. ( I had searched previously before posting).
    I waited it out and it took about 15 minutes.
    I was surprised because my MacBook Pro running Leopard does not seem to take so long. The other forum suggested that deselecting multiple foreign languages at install may make a difference.
    thanks

  • Can you work while you repair permissions with disk utility?

    I had read somewhere that it was fine to repair permissions while you run Safari and other apps on your Mac at the same time. Obviously, everything runs slower while you are doing this, but other than that are there any ill side effects from doing this? (i.e., are things not repaired for apps you are running, etc.?)
    I've been searching all over the place for an answer on this and would appreciate an educated answer from the pros here. My assumption from what I know of permissions repair is that it's harmless, but I'd like an expert explanation.
    Thanks!
    By the way, I'm running 10.5.8 if that makes any difference.

    Not that I'm aware of. It would be implied by the fact that you should repair permissions while booted into your normal system. Since hundreds of processes are already running apparently repairing permissions is not affected by them. Then again if you know what's involved in repairing permissions you would learn that it is simply a matter of reading information on a file and comparing it to the contents of a database. If there's a difference then fix the file information in the directory. This is not an operation that requires one to quit all open programs because the program data are not involved in the repair process. And having done this for 20 years I know there isn't a problem.
    Hopefully you're now convinced it's OK.

  • Repairing Permissions With DU -Vs- MainMenu

    Hello,
    I was curios does it matter if I repair permissions with disk Utility versus repairing them with Main Menu Pro version? Also will it hurt doing system maintenance using Main Menu. I know Main Menu is 3rd party, but I think it has been around long enough to be trusted. I've used it on my iMac 2008 without issue, but don't want to take any chances with this new MBP.
    Jaco

    All maintenance applications use the same programs as Disk Utility so it wouldn't make any difference. But you can perform all the needed maintenance that the third-party software does just a few specific utilities.
    There isn't that much maintenance required. Disk Utility can repair permissions (something you should rarely if ever need to do) as well as repair the hard drive. For the rest of it you can install the freeware, Applejack - CNet Downloads or MacUpdate.
    For the occasional time when a hard drive has a problem DU cannot fix use Disk Warrior. And, to clean caches if needed use Snow Leopard Cache Cleaner.
    Also, see:
    Kappy's Personal Suggestions for OS X Maintenance
    For disk repairs use Disk Utility. For situations DU cannot handle the best third-party utilities are: Disk Warrior; DW only fixes problems with the disk directory, but most disk problems are caused by directory corruption; Disk Warrior 4.x is now Intel Mac compatible. TechTool Pro provides additional repair options including file repair and recovery, system diagnostics, and disk defragmentation. TechTool Pro 4.5.1 or higher are Intel Mac compatible; Drive Genius is similar to TechTool Pro in terms of the various repair services provided. Versions 1.5.1 or later are Intel Mac compatible.
    OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) If this isn't the case, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility such as Macaroni, JAW PseudoAnacron, or Anacron that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep. Dependence upon third-party utilities to run the periodic maintenance scripts had been significantly reduced in Tiger and Leopard. These utilities have limited or no functionality with Snow Leopard and should not be installed.
    OS X automatically defrags files less than 20 MBs in size, so unless you have a disk full of very large files there's little need for defragmenting the hard drive. As for virus protection there are few if any such animals affecting OS X. You can protect the computer easily using the freeware Open Source virus protection software ClamXAV. Personally I would avoid most commercial anti-virus software because of their potential for causing problems.
    I would also recommend downloading the shareware utility TinkerTool System that you can use for periodic maintenance such as removing old logfiles and archives, clearing caches, etc. Other utilities are also available such as Onyx, Leopard Cache Cleaner, CockTail, and Xupport, for example.
    For emergency repairs install the freeware utility Applejack. If you cannot start up in OS X, you may be able to start in single-user mode from which you can run Applejack to do a whole set of repair and maintenance routines from the commandline. Note that AppleJack 1.5 is required for Leopard. AppleJack 1.6 is compatible with Snow Leopard.
    When you install any new system software or updates be sure to repair the hard drive and permissions beforehand. I also recommend booting into safe mode before doing system software updates.
    Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
    Backuplist
    Carbon Copy Cloner
    Data Backup
    Deja Vu
    iBackup
    JaBack
    Silver Keeper
    MimMac
    Retrospect
    Super Flexible File Synchronizer
    ynchronizer
    SuperDuper!
    Synchronize Pro! X
    SyncTwoFolders
    Synk Pro
    Synk Standard
    Tri-Backup
    Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore.
    Additional suggestions will be found in Mac Maintenance Quick Assist.
    Referenced software can be found at CNet Downloads or MacUpdate.

  • Repaired permissions, now TM doing a full backup?

    Hi, intelligent user who doesn't have much advanced knowledge concerning what Repairing Permissions even means here.
    So I'm planning on replacing my Macbook Pro's HD, and I just finished making a full bootable backup onto a 200GB FW drive using Super Duper, and checked the "Repair Permissions first" option. I figured that having a latest Time Machine backup (1TB Time Capsule) would make sense as well, so before powering down to unscrew the case I did a Back Up Now. It scanned the entire computer and decided that it would backup all 70 GB fresh. I'm assuming this has something to do with having repaired permissions, but I don't quite know what that means. It may be something similar to what recently happened to me, when I erased my whole computer and refreshed from Time Machine, and then on the next backup it did everything over again instead of updating (for that backup I can still browse dates before that happened as long as I start at the root drive).
    Anyone know what I could do to fix this?

    Brian wrote:
    We have to be careful here: there are three different scenarios:
    New computer or logic board. Time Machine identifies your computer by it's +Media Access Control address+ (MAC address), embedded in the hardware of the logic board. There is a way that some folks have gotten around this on Leopard after a new logic board, but it's tedious and very easy to mess up (I did that, twice!) per the link in #C8 of Troubleshooting. (It's very dangerous on a different Mac).
    That was automated for Snow Leopard, resulting in the Re-Use prompt mentioned in #B5 of Troubleshooting. But, as #B5 specifies, Time Machine usually still does a full backup; the advantage is, Time Machine will delete the old backups normally.
    New drive on the same Mac (per the link you provided). I don't believe that works on Snow Leopard, and I've not seen a hack specifically for Snow Leopard posted here.
    Full restore (from Time Machine, a "clone", or otherwise) to the same drive on the same Mac. This almost always results in a new, full backup. An Apple engineer said that would stop with Snow Leopard, but obviously didn't. Some real techie UNIX guru decided there ought to be a way to do it; he posted a two-page log here a few months ago, of altering all sorts of things via Terminal, converting UUIDs to hex, etc., and claimed to have made it work. But he did it only as an exercise, and even he wouldn't recommend it, even to expert UNIX types.
    . . . I suppose the best way to save space on my Time Capsule (it now has at least 3 copies of my entire system with only very minor differences in the existence of some files) would be to make sure I have all the files I will ever want to have backed up, then delete the old records, which is something I presume wouldn't be too hard, make a fresh backup, then delete whatever I don't think I need right now, knowing it will all be found by scrolling back to July of 2010?
    I'd have to agree. It just isn't worth the hassle, or the risk of damaging something that you might not notice for a long time. I have no problem hacking around with most things, but not my backups.
    Depending on whether Time Machine made new sparse bundles, it may not be too tedious to delete the old backups. See #12 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

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