What does "Repair Permissions"?

A week ago, I have used Disk Utility to check and repair permissions. Today, I had a crash and many permissions seemed to be corrupt (?) or wrong. So I have repaired them. When I repair my car properly, it is OK. But after repairing permissions on my machine, the following check has listed more problems than before.
What hack does this function check and repair?

HI,
*"Should I buy a new machine? "*
Oh no.
A crash can mean there's directory damage. Easy enough to find out and in most cases easy to fix.
Try booting from your install disk and run Disk Utility.
Insert Installer disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
Go to Installer menu (Panther and earlier) or Utilities menu (Tiger and later) and launch Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
Select First Aid in the Main panel.
(Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel. It should say: Verified)
Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
*"but always crashes when I attach a camera. Recorded Finder crashes are about 20 in three years. Not really much"*
It's possible your camera is not compatible with the Mac OS X, or the drivers need updating.
Seems you've been having issues for awhile...
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9386111#9386111
Carolyn

Similar Messages

  • What does 'Repair Permissions' mean anyway?

    Repairing permissions is usually my first line of defense (after re-start) whenever things go a little screwy, but I really don't know what that means. What exactly is being repaired? And what's being "permitted"? Is it about corrupted files?
    I'm just curious (and a little confused).
    : )

    Repairing permissions should not be the first line of defense if you have problems. In fact permissions should rarely ever require repairing and rarely solve any problem. Here's some good reading:
    Repair Permissions- A false panacea
    Repairing permissions- What you need to know
    Take Control of Permissions in OS X.
    If you want to keep your computer running smoothly, then read the following:
    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 4.0 is now Intel Mac compatible. TechTool Pro provides additional repair options including file repair and recovery, system diagnostics, and disk defragmentation. TechTool Pro 4.5.2 is Intel Mac compatible; Drive Genius is similar to TechTool Pro in terms of the various repair services provided. The current version, 1.5.1, is 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.
    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.
    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.
    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):
    1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial - not yet universal binary)
    2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
    3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
    4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
    5. PsynchX 2.1.1 and RsyncX 2.1 (Freeware)
    6. Carbon Copy Cloner (Freeware - 3.0 is a Universal Binary)
    7. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
    The following utilities can also be used for backup, but cannot create bootable clones:
    1. Backup (requires a .Mac account with Apple both to get the software and to use it.)
    2. Toast
    3. Impression
    4. arRSync
    Apple's Backup is a full backup tool capable of also backing up across multiple media such as CD/DVD. However, it cannot create bootable backups. It is primarily an "archiving" utility as are the other two.
    Impression and Toast are disk image based backups, only. Particularly useful if you need to backup to CD/DVD across multiple media.
    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 www.versiontracker.com and www.macupdate.com.

  • What does "Repair Permissions" mean?

    Here are some official explanations from the Apple Knowledge Base.
    The articles were written to apply to Mac OS X 10.2 and 10.3, but they apply to 10.4 Tiger as well.
    Here's the short explanation:
    "About Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions feature"
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751
    Here's the excruciatingly in-depth explanation:
    "Troubleshooting permissions issues in Mac OS X"
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106712

    How do preferences get wonked in the first place?
    In the previous thread on "symphony install problems"
    Allan Sharman, "symphony install problem", 06:04am Nov 8, 2005 CDT
    I tried to explain the problem in some detail. But here's a more concise explanation from Wikipedia:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repair_permissions
    "Repair permissions
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
    Repairing disk permissions is a troubleshooting activity commonly associated with Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system.
    The Darwin [Unix] layer of OS X manages which users are able to access which files by maintaining a list of Unix permissions for each file. Over time this data can become corrupted or get changed as applications edit the permissions to allow necessary file access, then get terminated before reverting them. The result of this is that in extreme circumstances the operating system may not allow itself to access files that it needs. This has been reported by users to result in the wide variety of errors already mentioned. Because of this, repairing permissions has become a standard troubleshooting first step to combat unexpected behaviour encountered on Mac OS X. Reparing permissions has been reported to fix problems with booting the system, misbehaving applications, Finder functions, malformed icons, problems with software installations and other problems besides. Although the necessity of carrying this process out as a maintenance activity has been called into question, some users claim that the process should be run on a weekly basis to prevent errors developing."

  • Why does "repair permissions" actually creates more repairs when again.

    When I use Disk Utility repair permissions, I run it a second time and there were more instances than noted in the initial run. 13 the first time and 22 the second. To double check, I rebooted my MBP to make sure it wasn't an issue with a running program. The same thing happened, I got 13 instances the first time and when I hit it again, I got 22. I find it hard to believe that by running "repair", more instances are created.
    Also, why are some things just not repaired?
    Thanks so much for any guidance.
    Sincerely,
    Skip

    Specifically, what "repair permissions" does is look at a bunch of files called "BOM files" or "Bill of Materials files", which is simply a list of what files where installed where and with what permissions. They are created by the Mac software package make that vendors use to build installation packages (if you've ever installed software that required you to run an installation program rather than just copy it to /Applications, that's what you have).
    When you run "repair permissions", it compares the file's permissions with what's in the BOM. If they aren't the same, it changes the file's permissions to whatever the BOM says they originally were. The idea being that something might have altered the permissions on a file file making it impossible for you to access and thereby messing up anything that requires access to the file. In practice, that doesn't happen too often.
    What does happen pretty often is that the software installer copies files and then changes permissions on them. Even the application may change permissions on the files. That's pretty common, and often necessary to the operation of a piece of software. So, despite doing a "repair permissions", some files and directories are going to simply defy having their permissions modified (particularly things like directories where log files are stored).

  • What does 'Verify Permissions' mean?

    I've seen a lot of comments in these forums that one should verify and repair permissions of the MacHD drive before installing an update such as 10.5.3.
    Q. What does this mean? When and why do I need to do it?
    Many thanks for any help. I like to think of myself as a 'reasonably' savvy user but am drawing blanks on this topic.
    Cheers,
    D

    Hi
    See if this helps?
    Troubleshooting permissions issues in Mac OS X gives you an idea of permissions & what they're for.
    Mac OS X 10.5: Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions reports issues with SUID files mentions ACL messages.
    Steve

  • I am unable to print anything since installing the latest driver for my epson stylus rx640. I have followed epson's advice by doing repair permissions, but I still can't print anything. Can anybody suggest anything?

    Can't print with my Epson stylus RX 640 since the latest apple software update for epson. Since then I completely reinstalled the printer following epson's advice. It worked. But today, I am trying to print some photos and nothing happens. Epson suggest resetting and then doing some repair permissions. Done that and still no joy. Can anyone help please.

    contact Epson again and ask them about using a generic Gutenprint driver; I read in one of the threads here - but can't find it right now - about a problem with your model printer. Since Epson has not updated its driver to work with SL on this older model, it appears using a generic driver does work. You might also try searching for those threads by typing your model number into the search box.

  • Does repair permissions etc. need to be done after upgrade to 10.6?

    My used Early 2009 Mini came with Leopard and I upgraded it to Snow Leopard.  Haven't had the chance to use it yet.  Need to update to the latest version of SL.  Just wondered if I should do repair permissions etc. before using it.  Or install all of the software I need and do the repair permissions etc. after that. 
    Thanks.
    Silverado93

    How to Install OS X Updates Successfully
    A. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions:
    Boot from your current Tiger Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. Then select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger and later.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally. 
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
    B. Make a Bootable Backup Using Restore Option of Disk Utility:
    Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
    Select the destination volume from the left side list.
    Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
    Check the box labeled Erase destination.
    Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
    Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
    Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
    Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
    C. Important: Please read before installing:
    If you have a FireWire hard drive connected, disconnect it before installing the update unless you will boot from this drive and install the update on it. Reconnect it and turn it back on after installation is complete and you've restarted.
    You may experience unexpected results if you have installed third-party system software modifications, or if you have modified the operating system through other means. (This does not apply to normal application software installation.)
    The installation process should not be interrupted. If a power outage or other interruption occurs during installation, use the standalone installer (see below) from Apple Downloads to update.  While the installation is in progress do not use the computer.
    D. To upgrade:
    Purchase the Snow Leopard Retail DVD.
    Boot From The OS X Installer Disc:
    Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
    Restart the computer.
    Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
    Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
    Wait for installer to finish loading.
    E. If updating:
    Download and install update(s) 
    Use Software Update, or
    Download standalone updater(s).

  • Error "ACL found but not expected on..." when doing repair permissions.

    I am getting an error on Disk Utility, Repair permissions.   I was having some problems with permissions and sought and received help through forum regarding changing my userid password through Lion Repair (Control R, etc.)  After finishing that ordeal, rebooting, etc.   everything seems fine and works well, perhaps slightly slow.   I decided to go into Disk Utility again and I repeatedly get the following errors...
    "ACL found but not expected on “usr/sbin/system_profiler”
    Repaired “usr/sbin/system_profiler”
    ACL found but not expected on “usr/sbin/systemsetup”
    Repaired “usr/sbin/systemsetup”
    ACL found but not expected on “usr/sbin/traceroute”
    Repaired “usr/sbin/traceroute”
    After about a 20-25 minute repair process, I clear the report ,exit disk utility, reboot the computer and I still get the same report.  Disk verify shows the hard drive to be functioning well.   What is the source of these errors and is there a solution.
    Thanks,

    I had those too.
    I used ACLr8 just now. Didn't know if it would work for Lion or not. Ran Disk Utility again and it didn't show any problems at all... after having several of the ACL's... which bugged me, even though they are not supposed to mean anything. :-)

  • What does Repair Disk do?

    My hard drive is suddenly not recognized. I selected "verify disk" and it said I needed to repair the disk. WIll that delete my files?

    It should not but with disk problems a backup would be a good thing to have just in case
    You will need to boot from another device in order to repair the system drive
    Allan

  • Repair permissions always via install dvd?

    Seems that always when I repair permissions (I do it once a week and with every major install) there are the same permissions that are "wrong" every time. And the list seems to get longer.
    I always repair just by starting Disk Utility and repairing - without booting from the install dvd. Is that wrong? Should I really do the repair permissions always from the dvd? (Like the app seems to suggest.)
    Is there any use doing the task just from the active system or is it really useless?
    Please tell me the "most pro way of cleaning up my system".
    And as former PC Windows user - why is there no "Find disk errors" type of app? Does Repair Permissions repair disk errors as well?
    Thanks for advice!

    Hello-
    I don't claim to be a 'tech expert' but my understandings seem to work for me. If I'm wrong, I'd be just as interested in other opinions as yourself, so FWIW;
    Seems that always when I repair permissions (I do it
    once a week and with every major install) there are
    the same permissions that are "wrong" every time. And
    the list seems to get longer.
    The list you see doesn't mean that anything was wrong, just set to something other than what the original permissions called for. If there is a problem you will usually get a red listing indicating a failure of some sort. Although the value of arbitrarily repairing once a week if no OS/app installs or upgrades is questioned by many, the consenus opinion seems to be "it can't hurt".
    I always repair just by starting Disk Utility and
    repairing - without booting from the install dvd. Is
    that wrong? Should I really do the repair permissions
    always from the dvd? (Like the app seems to
    suggest.)
    As I understand it, you are doing the right thing. Some rather knowledgeable folks actually say this is the 'better' way because your version of the OS has most likely been updated to something newer than what's on the Install CD. IOW, you should Repair Disk Permissions based on the same OS version you are repairing.
    Please tell me the "most pro way of cleaning up my
    system".
    There really isn't that much that needs to be done other than following the suggested 'proactive' approach pertaining to perm. repair, standard cache maintenance (if you run your system 24/7 it's automatic, or you can run the routines manually if your comfortable with Terminal. Otherwise, a utility like OnyX -free- is readily available.)
    As long as you aren't constantly downloading, installing & removing every piece of junk you can get your mouse on you should be OK.
    And as former PC Windows user - why is there no "Find
    disk errors" type of app? Does Repair Permissions
    repair disk errors as well?
    Repair Perms doesn't, but the OS does a much better job than Windows, which needs such a utility because it creates the errors in the first place. Disk Utility does include a Repair Disk function which requires starting up from a different boot disk, but it doesn't need to be used as a matter of 'routine' maintenance.
    In the event you do run into problems, these Discussions are one of the most invaluable resources available to you. Don't hesitate to ask & you'll get some excellent advice & guidance on any situation you may encounter. Just wait for considered responses before taking any response at face value.
    Regards |:>)

  • ITunes 7.0.1 - Important to Repair Permissions

    After upgrading to iTunes 7.0.1 I repaired permissions using Disk Utility.
    Here's what appeared:
    Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”
    Determining correct file permissions.
    Permissions differ on ./Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Frameworks/InternetUtilities.bundle/Contents /MacOS/InternetUtilities, should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are -rwxrwxr-x
    Owner and group corrected on ./Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Frameworks/InternetUtilities.bundle/Contents /MacOS/InternetUtilities
    Permissions corrected on ./Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Frameworks/InternetUtilities.bundle/Contents /MacOS/InternetUtilities
    Permissions repair complete
    The privileges have been verified or repaired on the selected volume

    I'd always do it before and after.

  • Can I repair permissions on an external RAID1

    I have an external RAID1 set that has permissions set to Read & Write, all categories, Ignore ownership is turned on. Intended for data storage only. When I copy a folder of files to this RAID, the files in the folder wind up with "No Access" permissions under the Group and Others categories. I am trying to get these files to take on the permissions of the drive itself, which is R&W but can't find out how. The Ignore ownership is supposed to correct this but doesn't. I started Disk Utility on the Boot Drive and tried to repair permissions on the RAID set but no luck, repair permissions does not highlight. Does repair permissions work on a RAID1 drive? Any other thoughts on why the individual files in the folders do not take on the R&W attributes of the drive?

    You could use folder actions to change the permissions on a file that you dropped on your external hard drive. I believe you will it need to place an action on each folder that you drop a file on.
    first, you need to have the AppleScript program in the correct folder.
    "/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/"
    Also, shown in the pull-down below.
    second, you need to enable folder actions by clicking on the box.
    third third, you need to pick a folder and assign the AppleScript.
    !http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3574/3358154729_ab483596a9.jpg?v=0!
    Here is an example, dropLog, folder actions Applescript.
    on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving dropped_items
    repeat with dropped_item_ref in dropped_items
    display dialog "dropped files is " & dropped_item_ref
    set posix_path to POSIX path of dropped_item_ref
    (* Check out "'" how valid this is with Unix!!! *)
    set the_query to "ls -lF " & "'" & posix_path & "'"
    display dialog the_query
    set ls_result to do shell script the_query
    display dialog "ls result = " & ls_result
    end repeat
    end adding folder items to
    How to use chmod
    mac $ pwd
    /Users/mac
    mac $ touch testseeit
    mac $ ls -l testseeit 
    -rw-r--r--   1 mac  staff  0 Nov 11 23:33 testseeit
    mac $ chmod 660 testseeit 
    mac $ ls -l testseeit 
    -rw-rw----   1 mac  staff  0 Nov 11 23:33 testseeit
    mac $ 
    of course for cryptic info...
    man chmod
    There is the chown command for changing the owner and group.

  • Quicktime, iMovie, Repair Permissions quit unexpectedly

    This relates to the post from Brian Z that disk utility when doing repair permissions generates error that it has "lost connection with disk management tool" This came from my computer and I sent a crash report to apple. I can get quicktime player to read an avi file and show it. But when I close window, Quicktime quits Unexpectedly. When I try and import the same or other .avi files to iMovie, it also quits unexpectedly. Used to all work. Now it does not. I tried reinstalling Qyuicktime, and taking preference files out to no avail ............HELP!

    Boot in safe mode.* This will cause certain caches maintained by the system to be rebuilt. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
    Be sure your Mac is shut down.
    Press the power button.
    Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
    Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
    *Note: If FileVault is enabled under OS X 10.7 or later, or if a firmware password is set, you can’t boot in safe mode.
    Safe mode is much slower to boot than normal.
    When the login screen appears, reboot as usual (not in safe mode) and test. There's no need to log in while in safe mode.

  • What does the message "Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified and will not be repaired" when repairing disk permissions?

    What does the message "Warning: SUID file “System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent” has been modified and will not be repaired" when repairing disk permissions?

    It's just a status message, albeit a misleading one, and can be ignored.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448
    Regards.

  • HT1452 Repair permissions says Group 0 should be group 80...what does this mean?

    What does this mean...Group 0 should be 80?
    Some say Group 80 should be 0?

    It just means the item is assigned to the wrong owner. 0 is the OS, 80 is the admin user. So the item's permissions were improperly assigned to the OS as the owner rather than the admin account.

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