Unable to create a user home directory ?

When I use root to create a new account, it can not create a default home directory for this user .
This problem will also cause a lot of other problems when using non-root account to login in.
$ ssh [email protected]
Password:
Last login: Mon Jul 7 10:13:42 2008 from 10.250.X.X
Could not chdir to home directory /home/admin: No such file or directory
Sun Microsystems Inc. SunOS 5.10 Generic January 2005
what's the problem ?

chances are its the automounter. check /etc/auto_master. it by default includes /home as a mount point for the automount process. if you dont need the automount for /home, comment that line out, save the file, and run automount -v (-v for verbose output). you should then be able to create dirs under /home. or, you could use a diff home dir prefix, or use the automounter (this will take some setup).

Similar Messages

Unable to create the portable home directory for this user

This is driving me nuts!
I have a network user who I can login to on any machine on the network. I want a PHD to be created on a laptop and eveytime I answer 'yes' to 'create PHD for this user' I get the "unable to create the PHD for this user" message.
What am I doing wrong?

I fixed this by unbinding the laptop from the od server as I had used this user previously for PHD's on this machine. Setting up the machine to bind to OD again and all is well.

Why can't a new folder be created within my user home directory when using 'Save As' in Mountain Lion?

Hi,
So I want to create a new folder within my main user home directory (not the root directory) just for my developer-related files? I can do this from Finder, although it does prompt me for my password to do so. However, when using 'Save As' from any app, the 'New Folder' button is greyed out when I select my user home directory. So I have to create the folder in Finder then Save As.
Is this normal behavior? Is OSX discouraging me from adding things to my user home directory by making it less convenient? Is there a good reason it would be discouraging me from creating new folders there? If not, is there a setting that I can change to allow the creation of new folders from the Save As prompt?
Thanks for your help,
B

You may need to rebuild permissions on your user account. To do this,boot to your Recovery partition (holding down the Command and R keys while booting) and open Terminal from the Utilities menu. In Terminal, type: ‘resetpassword’ (without the ’s), hit return, and select the admin user. You are not going to reset your password. Click on the icon for your Macs hard drive at the top. From the drop down below it select the user account which is having issues. At the bottom of the window, you'll see an area labeled Restore Home Directory Permissions and ACLs. Click the reset button there. The process takes a few minutes. When complete, restart.
Repair User Permissions

SolMan 4.0 Solaris / Oracle install: Unable to create account user

Hi!
Am I getting this error during step 2 (Create users for SAP System) of the Solution Manager 4.0 installation. This error occurs when SAPinst is trying to create account "orasol" for system "SOL".
INFO[E] 2007-02-14 13:12:51
FSH-00006 Return value of function getpwnam(orasol) is NULL
ERROR 2007-02-14 13:12:51
FSL-01002 Unable to create account user="soladm". UX: /usr/sbin/useradd: ERROR: Unable to create the home directory: No such file or directory. (return code 12)
ERROR 2007-02-14 13:12:51
MUT-03025 Caught ESyException in Modulecall: ESAPinstException: error text undefined.
Please let me know how I can fix this error!
Regards,
Thomas

Hello Thomas,
It looks like a Solaris issue. Check if the home directory
/home is reserved in the Solaris configuration.
Check if this fix the problem please perform the following steps:
1. modify /etc/auto_master file to change the entry for '/home' to say
'/autohome' instead
2. reboot
3. rmdir /home
4. ln -s /export/home /home (make sure /export/home exists)
Also you could create soladm manually in advance.
Hope this helps,
Dolores

Unable to create a User in Planning (Very Urgent)

Hi All,
I am Using Planning 4.0 version. When I am trying to create a user from Planning Web it is throwing me the below Error:
User Name is Invalid: test
I tried giving different usernames but no luck.
Is this a bug??? Are there any log files which I can look at for more information.
Please let me know your valuable inputs.
Thanks in Advance

Hi,
But I have this user access couple of weeks back. I do not know where to check for the log files.
This user is available in Active directory and can access production database. But I am unable to create the same user in developement environment. Even I tried to create couple of users who are in the Actice directory. I am unable to create any users.
Where should I check to get more information in order to resolve this issue.
Please let me know your inputs

All Adobe Creative Cloud apps fail to work, creating new user Home folder fixed it.

We have Adobe Creative Cloud device licenses. I had a user contact me yesterday with these problems.
Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 - error opening, "could not complete your request because the file is locked do not have necessary access permissions or another program is using the file photoshop"
Adobe Illustrator CC 2014 - error opening, "the operation cannot complete because of an unknown error [cant]"
Adobe InDesign CC 2014 - would crash when opening, no error given
These same apps worked when logged in as a different user.
None of these worked:
I tried removing all kinds of user Adobe preferences, Application Support files, etc.
Deleted ~/.adobe
I fixed permissions on the user's home folder.
Renamed user's Home/Library to LibraryBak.
Uninstalling and reinstalling CC.
What finally worked was creating a new user and copying the contents of the broken user home directory over, except for Home/* level hidden files. (eg: .adobe, bash_history) Basically I just copied over the visible folders and used the Terminal to copy of the hidden ~/Library folder.
Does anyone have any idea what the exact cause was? What file/folder could've been deleted to fix this instead of the longer route I took?

This wasn't answered and I see that it's still not resolved.

Moving user home directory to another partition on same hard drive

I would like to find a way to move the user home directory off the OS partition and over to a new partition on the same hard drive. I then would want to create a time machine to back up the new partition containing the user home directory to a 3rd partition called "backup". I have partitioned the hard drive as follows 1. OS, 2. DATA, 3. Backup. I copied the user home directory to the DATA partition but do not have access\permission to the files\folders now on DATA partition. After getting this permission issue resolved, I would like to create a time machine using the DATA partition as the source that needs to be backed up to "backup". How can this be done? I have 20 of these MacBook Pro's that I need to do the same config for. My company will not allow external drive for time machine\data storage. In a real bind. Appreciate any help.

I would like to find a way to move the user home directory off the OS partition and over to a new partition on the same hard drive.
That's possible, with some moderately low-level hacking of your system, and some people do it, but IMHO it is an extremely bad idea. It increases complexity with no positive benefits, which is never a good thing. Leave the user folder where it is.
I then would want to create a time machine to back up the new partition containing the user home directory to a 3rd partition called "backup".
You could call it "trout" instead. 'Cause it's just as much a trout as it is a backup! If you store the backup on the same physical device as the original, it's not a backup. What happens if the drive fails? Both are gone. What happens if the machine is stolen? What happens if there's a fire? A power surge? Someone spills coffee in it? You get the idea.
See my [Mac Backup Guide|http://www.reedcorner.net/thomas/guides/backups> for some help figuring out a decent backup strategy.
My company will not allow external drive for time machine\data storage.
Your company is managed by fools, then. Sorry to be so blunt, but if they are prohibiting you from backing up company data, it's the unvarnished truth. Feel free to tell them I said so.
Sooner or later, someone will lose data because of something as simple as a hard drive failure... and who do you think will take the bullet for that? The guy who denied you resources for backups, or the guy who set up the machines (ie, you)? You really don't want to be left holding that bag. Go on record saying that backups are needed. If they are denied, document it and then go over his head.
If you've got 20 company machines, all containing company data, then there needs to be a centralized backup scheme... probably a tape drive and something like Retrospect to coordinate and maintain backups across all machines through the network. Nearly two decades ago I set up a system like that to keep about 50 Macs backed up... it wasn't cheap, but nobody lost data on my watch!

[User home directory property not found.]

Our Roaming Profile policy does not work but exits with the following error message in the log file:
RoamingProfile Policy] "...[POLICYHANDLERS.RoamingProfile.ErrorInEnforcement] .... [User home directory property not found.] ...."
We are running ZCM 10.3.1
We have the exact same environment at another customer where everything is just working fine. We compared the user properties and could not find any differences. eDirectory is fine, too
Does anybody have the same problems or a solution to it?
Thanks,
Sebastian

Yes, home directory is defined in eDir.
In Novell Client for Windows XP there is no "Allow Roaming User Profile Paths to non-Windows servers" attribute, it is in Client for Win 7 only.
In roaming policy, if I type the path to home directory manualy, it works fine.
In our original environment I have ZfD 4 on Netware, roaming profiles save to home directories normally, without errors.

User home directory at /var/imap is unavailable

We're running a single 10.5.7 server and recently migrated our mail to a new location from the default /var/imap and var/spool/imap. Since that time, I've been seeing the following log entries pop up when a user attempts to log in to the mail server. An example:
Feb 5 10:19:37 ServerName imapd: [xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx] username
[6608]: CFPreferences: user home directory at /var/imap is unavailable. User domains will be volatile.
We migrated the mail using a process nearly identical to the one found at:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6600016&#6600016
I have checked the settings and paths in:
cyrus.conf
imapd.conf
(postfix) main.cf
(postfix) master.cf
All of the paths point to the correct new paths, which are:
/Volumes/Resources/Mail/imap
/Volumes/Resources/Mail/spool/imap
All users are able to access their accounts and use the mail server. What we're seeing is periodic periods of high latency (messages taking minutes to send) and occasionally odd problems with users' Sent folders (a sent message appearing twice with the same timestamp, even though the outgoing mail filter indicates it was only sent once). I'm making the assumption that these intermittent problems are related to the user home pointing to the wrong path.
I've looked through the forums and googled the phrase, but haven't found anything that would point me toward finding the setting in the mail services that remains incorrect.
We also intermittently receive the following mail-related message in the mailaccess.log:
Feb 5 10:36:07 Rivendell master[865]: can't open com file: /var/imap/.smd.imap.com (No such file or directory)
This appears to be a similar problem, but again, the location of the setting I need to change eludes me.
Thanks for any help or pointers.

Here's the solution that finally fixed this problem and removed latency problems that seem to have been associated with it.
(1) Stopped mail services with terminal.
(2) Opened the Server Admin application.
(3) Under Mail/Settings/Advanced/Database I changed the path to the original location, /var/imap and /var/spool/imap.
(4) Clicked "Save."
(5) In the same spot, changed the paths back to the new location.
(6) Clicked "Save."
(7) Restarted the mail server.
I have no idea what hidden setting that's not in the conf files that this changed, but it removed the error messages and the latency.

AAA problems Nexus 7000 %AUTHPRIV-3-SYSTEM_MSG: Unable to create temporary user

Hi,
I'm having problems getting our Nexus 7000 to authenticate users from our Windows domain. If I set up a user within the ACS server and use the CiscoSecure database for password authentication it works fine.
In the logs on the nexus I receive the following messages when logging on using my windows account.
%AUTHPRIV-3-SYSTEM_MSG: Unable to create temporary user 16894. Error 0x404a0036 - login[20923]
%AUTHPRIV-3-SYSTEM_MSG: pam_aaa:Authentication failed for user 16894 from 10.128.45.44 - login[20923]
We can log on to all other Cisco OS devices using windows domain accounts, its just the Nexus.
Any help much appreciated.
Thanks
Darren

No errors the autnetication on the ACS is showing as passed. The problem is I get an access denied message from the nexus switch,

AES-256 user home directory sparse image bundle in Lion?

Snow Leopard and previous had file vault to protect users' home directories as, I believe, AES-128-encrypted sparse image bundles. As I understand it now, under Lion, the options are to enable AES-128 whole disk encryption, or, if upgrading an existing snow leopard machine with a legacy file vault user account, to maintain that legacy file vault user home directory. However, under this second approach, additional users' home directories cannot be individually "file-vaulted" and instead, would require that legacy file vault be decrytped and then the entire disk be encrypted.
I am thinking that it would be advantageous from a security standpoint if an individual user home directory could remain encrypted, if that user were not actively logged in. Then, all contents would be inaccessible to other users, including administratively privileged users, and also that user's home directory would remain encrypted when the computer was turned on and booted up because as I understand it, file vault 2's real strength lies in protecting "data at rest" versus "data on a powered up and mounted file vault 2 volume".
To that end, I am wondering, regardless of whether file vault 2 is enabled or not, whether an existing user home directory and all of its contents be converted to an AES-256-encrypted sparse image bundle, using Disk Utility, and exist at the /Users directory space, mounting and decrypting "on the fly" from the login window at user login just like how a legacy file vault home directory is treated under snow leopard, independently of whether file vault 2 was enabled on the whole disk or not. This would also permit later addition/conversion of another "file vaulted" user account whether fle vault 2 were enabled or not.
To recap, an AES-256-encrypted sparse image bundle that would mount upon user login just like a legacy file vault user home directory does. Does anyone know if something like that is doable, and has that road already been travelled successfully? If so, I'd love to read a step-by-step, play-by-play, set of instructions on how to do just that.

I think I got a solution worked out. I don't mind if things get installed in /opt as long as pacman tracks it, and I found ruby-enterprise-rmagick in the AUR as an orphan. I adopted it, updated it, installed it, and it's working great with my code.

User home directory on server over WAN link

Hello all,
I have a performance question about home directories. The situation is:
- 3 locations, 3 servers (OS X server 10.4.7 (Xserves))
- WAN connections are 1 Mbit/s
- All clients running 10.4.7 (imac G5 1.6/1.8 GHz.)
- User home folders are all located on one of the three servers
Two locations are OD replicas from the first location.
User home folders are located on the server at the location where they work most.
Some users work 4 days at location A, and 1 day at location B or C.
For simplicity let's say I have a user called A, with home directory located on server at location A.
User A is now working one day at location B. User logs in successfully, but everything is very slow (1 Mbit WAN link).
I really like the flexibility of server based home folders. Also the fact that there is no data on the local machines is very much appreciated (physical security, backup etc.). I was thinking about portable home directories, but that won't solve my problem, given the fact that all data needs to be copied once from location A to B (especially when users use different machines on the other location). Data will be stored on the local machines as well in that situation (but can be synchronized).
It is of course possible to synchronize data from server A to B and C when a user logs off (rsync). Is there any way to tell OD that it should pick a user home directory based on the location where that specific user logs in? Disk space isn't really an issue.
The performance is really awful using a 1 Mbit connection and upgrading the connections is not really an option (well maybe I could get it to 2 Mbit, but that won't solve this problem).
Thanks for any advice.
Jordi
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

How about firewire harddrive or ipod-based home directories which the users could take to different offices with them?
If not... I really think that your best option is to work to get Portable Home Directories working. Remember it is only the data that has been changed that is synced each time. You mention you are concerned about backup, but this will be done from the server after user data is sync'd there. The physical security worries can be taken take of by using open firmware passwords.
Is there any way to tell OD that it should pick a user home directory based
on the location where that specific user logs in?
By using DHCP at each site to bind the clients you can force them to use the Home Diretory you specifiy at each site. But this sounds like a sync & backup nightmare to me and don't forget rsync will mangle your acl's and other meta data.
hth,
b.

User Home Directory Unavailable

I seem to have unmounted my home directory.
It is now an ejectable disk image, that only shows up in the finder with my other harddrives...
It does not show up in disk utility...?
Everything seems to be working fine still, except for Mail....?
Any ideas on how to remount?
I don't dare shut my machine down...
I was trying to access files on a remote hard drive that was formerly a mirror partition of a software RAID array for a machine running 10.4.11. It has been repeatedly crashing my new 10.5.5 system till today when I had reset the jumper pins to slave...
I was using Terminal to try and reset permissions/disable RAID, when suddenly I was told "User home directory ... is unavailable".
What does this mean? Can I remount somehow? I have my whole home user directory encrypted with file vault.
Please help. Lot's of very valuable data on this disk, in this directory.

If he is using FileVault, then I believe his home directory IS a mountable object. It is an encrypted sparseimage which mounts when he logs in, and unmounts when he logs out. Somehow or other it sounds like he got logged out and the sparseimage unmounted. I've never used FileVault, too dang many problems with it. If I had sensitive info on a laptop I would make an encrypted disk image to keep the info in. Take a look at GuyEWhite's post here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5881960
Perhaps that will help. Or someone who is very familiar with the the oddnesses of FileVault may see this thread and be able to offer more specific information for this very peculiar case.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Never - Create a portable home directory on this computer now?

I have kinda the opposite problem from normal. I have Home Directories and PHD's working fine. I think it is working as expected, with one exception...
My Daughter has an iMac at my office. I set up her account as PHD so she could also use the account from home. (We SOMETIMES go home <g>) But when I log on as her from one of the other desktops at the office, I get the dialog: "Create a portable home directory on this computer now?". I answer never. And it keeps coming up. Does Never not mean Never?
Panther Server, Tiger Clients. TIA
PB G4 Al (2), MDD G4 Dual (3), AGP, Cube, W2K Server, B&W G3 Server & others (includes SE30)

Hello,
I started a thread concerning the opposite phenomenon, when you once click "Never" it seems you cannot change your mind and get the question asked again ... maybe you could contribute to answer the question ?
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1375953&#1375953
Brett_X said: Most of the PHD stuff happens at the client level anyway
I guess the settings preventing the dialog from coming up are stored on the client machine ?
Thank You.

User Home Directory not being created when "Create Home Now" button hit...

This is a cross post, since I was not sure where this should end up since it touches two pieces- Open Directory and User Management. Any help would be appreciated!
I am running OS X Server 10.5. All of my user accounts have been migrated over along with their home directories. Problem is that when creating new users and then assiging a home directory the system does not actually create the directory.
Currently all users are setup to have their home directory setup here:
afp://172.16.110.100/Users/'username'. The Users folder has been setup to automount, and all users that have folders can be accessed without issue.
The problem is when I create a new user, select the aft://172.16.110.100/Users option and then select "Create Home Now" button and save as it requests... it does not create the directories.
I have even tried to change the Home patch to make it local to see if it was an network issue, and used the /Users choice and it will not create the directory in that way either- both location go to the same place.
The system was obviously able to create the local admin account and directory admin account home folders without issue when the system was installed.
The permissions for the "Users" folder are as follow:
directory admin = Read and Write
local admin= Read and Write
system user (root)= Read and Write
admin group= Read Only
everyone group= Read Only
The system is in production, so any kind of server resets need to be done after 5pm, so I have not been able to reset AFP service.
Currently the only services running are AFP, SMB and Open Directory.
All users have their entire home directories located on the server, and login over Directory Access on their clients, so all user accounts are stored on the server. No one is having issues accessing their files or logging in.
I just can not create new home directories when I create new accounts.

You do not have to be logged on as the root user to do this. Launch the terminal and type-
sudo createhomedir -a
I run an XServe with Tiger server ( 10.4.11) and this has been the workaround I have been using.
Good luck.

Unable to create a user home directory ?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for