What is the "wheel" user and how do I get to be wheel?

I am trying to install some software that requires me to creates some directories in /usr/local, but when I try to do so it tells me that I don't have permission. So ... I looked at the directory for /usr and see that the owner of most of the directories is "wheel". Coming from my Unix background, I'd expect to see root as the owner. What is this thing called "wheel", and how can I become wheel so that I can do the things I need to do to install a new directory in there?

Roger,
I may be mistaken but by default OS X does not have a user named "wheel." However, there is an group named wheel. Depending on what flavor of unix you are using the wheel group holds the root and other system administrator accounts. In OS X the only user in the wheel group is root. All other accounts with Administrative privileges are in the "admin" group. If you need to create a directory in /usr make sure you are an administrative user (in the admin group) and precede your mkdir command with "sudo." Darwin will ask you for your login password then execute your command as if you were logged in as root. Since the root user is a part of the wheel group the directory you created will belong to the user root and the group wheel.

Similar Messages

  • What is the rainbow pinwheel and how do I get rid if it?

    What is the rainbow pinwheel and how can I stop it from freezing a video?

    can you give more info on this one.
    os version?
    application that you're using to watch the video?
    what format is the video?

  • What is the file attribute @ and how can I get rid of it

    I converted some wav files using Roxio Toast 11 and the output AIF files have a '@' in the file permissions and are not displayed in Finder. What does the '@' mean and how can I get rid of it. Would love to know why Toast adds it but I posted a question on Roxio's site and hopefully will get an answer to that.
    thanks for the help
    john

    okay, so I yes, it does indicate extended attributes. I executed ls -l@ *.aif and got this
    -rw-r--r--@ 1 johnprokopek  staff
    9690378 Oct  6 13:30 zeppelin1969-08-31t01.aif
        com.apple.FinderInfo      
    32
    -rw-r--r--@ 1 johnprokopek  staff   31533402 Oct  6 13:30 zeppelin1969-08-31t02.aif
        com.apple.FinderInfo      
    32
    -rw-r--r--@ 1 johnprokopek  staff   72260634 Oct  6 13:30 zeppelin1969-08-31t03.aif
        com.apple.FinderInfo      
    32
    -rw-r--r--@ 1 johnprokopek  staff  167361402 Oct  6 13:30 zeppelin1969-08-31t04.aif
        com.apple.FinderInfo      
    32
    -rw-r--r--@ 1 johnprokopek  staff  114149754 Oct  6 13:30 zeppelin1969-08-31t05.aif
        com.apple.FinderInfo      
    32
    -rw-r--r--@ 1 johnprokopek  staff  246019338 Oct  6 13:30 zeppelin1969-08-31t06.aif
        com.apple.FinderInfo      
    32
    -rw-r--r--@ 1 johnprokopek  staff   51214938 Oct  6 13:30 zeppelin1969-08-31t07.aif
        com.apple.FinderInfo      
    32
    I then did xattr -c *.aif to clear the extended attributes which got rid of the '@' but the files are still not being displayed in Finder.
    Help!

  • What is the 'other' catagory and how do you get rid of it.

    Basically the 'other' category is over 2gb and as my ipod is only an 8gb one it takes up a lot of room so how do you get rid of the other category on itunes?

    Check out this thread:  http://discussions.apple.com/thread/3418045?start=0&tstart=0

  • What's a ASPNET user and how to disable this user by CMD ?

    What's a ASPNET user and how to disable this user by CMD ?
    I found a user named ASPNET on my computer. For security reasons I need to disable this user.
    There are hundreds of computer in my company.
    How can I disable this user ? By CMD or Domain Controller ?
    Additionally , if I disable ASPNET user ,what will affects on Windows 7 and Windows XP ?
    Thank you !

    back before IIS 6 or 7(I forgot), this ASP.NET user run ASP.NET application. If you have above IIS 6 or 7 you can simply delete this account
    but first, just confirm there is no user using this account to develop ASP.NET in your environment
    you can also reinstall your .NET framework to remove this user account
    this is the details
    http://marksxp.mvps.org/WindowsXP/aspdot.php

  • My MacBookPro has a white screen with a grey file folder in the center of the screen with a white question mark blinking in it. What does this mean?  And how can I get my computer back up and running normal?

    My MacBookPro has a white screen with a grey file folder in the center of the screen with a white question mark blinking in it. What does this mean?  And how can I get my computer back up and running normal?

    Start up in Safe Mode.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14204?viewlocale=en_US
    Repair Disk.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
    Reset PRAM.
       http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14222

  • What's the implicit joins and how to configure it?

    Hello guys
    what's the implicit joins and how to configure it? What's the purpose of implicit and explicit joins?
    Please help
    Thank you

    Thus, on my side, I think that :
    Explicit join define the join condition between the key column from the table.
    (table1.di = table2.id)
    While
    Implicit Join define :
    * the type of join outer, inner, ...
    http://gerardnico.com/wiki/dw/join/start
    * And the relationship (one-to-many, cardinality)
    http://gerardnico.com/wiki/dw/data_quality/relationships
    And all this information are used to generate the statement (query).
    And I don't really know why you have two type of key :
    * Physical Foreign Keys
    * Logical Foreign Keys
    Regards
    Nico

  • What does the scriptcollector do and how does it related to jsf lifecycle?

    hi,
    i want to know what does the scriptcollector do and how does it related to jsf lifecycle? and also in the scriptcollector if i call this,
    preRender=#{myBean.onPageLoadBegin}
    postRender=#{myBean.onPageLoadEnd}
    how my page will react?

    The hx:scriptCollector is part of the IBM Faces Client Framework and has nothing to do with Sun JSF RI.
    Lot of the hx components require specific Javascript and those hx components should be placed inside a single hx:scriptCollector which on its turn checks the nested hx components and renders the desired Javascript for it at the end of the tag. Check the HTML source for that Javascript.

  • Got a new Macbook Pro itunes music was all there.  Suddenly it is not and my library is probably about 1/4 of what it was.....where did the music go and how do I get it back?

    Got a new Macbook Pro itunes music was all there.  Suddenly it is not and my library is probably about 1/4 of what it was.....where did the music go and how do I get it back?

    Hi there,
    You may find the article below helpful.
    No content shows up in iTunes after updating
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1967
    -Griff W.

  • What is the model number and how many ports in the back?

    What is the Model number and how many ports int he back?

    You can compare your yourself here:
    http://www.apple.com/wifi/
    The AirPort Express is Model Number A1394
    The AirPort Extreme is Model Number A1408

  • I cannot update my software because I have too much 'other' GB space. Does anyone know what the 'other' is and how do I get rid of it?

    I cannot update my software because I have too much 'other' GB space. Does anyone know what the 'other' is and how do I get rid of it?

    COPirateDad wrote:
    I have been trying to figure out what ... is occupying over 1.4 GB of memory on my iPhone
    Other is usually around 1 GB...
    See Here  >   maclife.com/how_remove_other_data_your_iphone
    More Info about ‘Other’ in this Discussion
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/19958116

  • I have been fighting a losing battle with iDVD.  What is the latest version and how can I obtain it?

    I have been fighting a losing battle with my copy of iDVD.  What is the latest version and how do I obtain it?

    The latest and last version of iDVD is 7.1.2.  iDVD 7 is included in the boxed disc of iLife 08, 08 and 11.  You can get copies of them at Amazon.com. 
    The History of iLife
    Version
    Intro
    Cost
    OS
    IPhoto
    iWeb
    iMovie
    iDVD
    iTunes
    Garageband
    iLife
    01/03/03
    $49
    10.1
    2
    3
    3
    3
    iLife 04
    01/06/04
    $49
    10.2.6
    4
    4
    4
    4.2
    1
    iLife 05
    01/11/05
    $49
    10.3.4
    5
    HD 5
    5
    4.71
    2
    iLife 06
    01/10/06
    $79
    10.4.3
    6
    1
    HD 6
    6
    6.0.2
    3
    iLife 08
    08/07/07
    $79
    10.4.9
    7.0
    2.0
    7.0
    7.0
    4.0
    iLife 09
    01/06/09
    $79
    10.5.6
    8.0
    3.0
    8.0
    7.0.3
    5.0
    iLife 11
    10/20/10
    $49
    10.6.3
    9.0
    3.02
    9.0
    7.1
    6.0
    No matter what iLife version you purchase you'll need to run the latest updater which is availalbe from the Apple Downloads webpage.
    OT

  • When I signin Apple ID showing error 403 on my mobile. What is the reason? And how can solve it?

    When I signin Apple ID showing error 403 on my mobile. What is the reason? And how can solve it?

    This often means that the maximum of 3 iCloud accounts have already been created on the phone and it cannot create another account.  When this happens, all you can do is re-use one of the accounts previously created or creat your account using a different iOS device or Mac, if you have one.

  • I just updated my iPad to OS5 and all of my apps are gone. What did I do wrong and how can I get them back? Several were paid for. Thanks

    I just updated my iPad to OS5 and all of my apps are gone. What did I do wrong and how can I get them back? Several were paid for. Thanks

    If you have failed to make sure that any apps purchased on the iphone were transferred to your computer before updating, then you will have to redownload.
    Open itunes store, click Purchased, under Quick Links.

  • What is an unzip application and how do I get it

    What is an unzip application and how do I get it

    Why did you ask this in the forum for Adobe Reader?

Maybe you are looking for