Why do people think repair permissions should solve all their 'problems' ?

This seems to be a recurring theme with many people? I'm just curious. Please, fill me in.
Message was edited by: Jesse Fleming

Disc permissions need to be fixed for several reasons --
For those coming from the Windows world, it is the equivalent of fixing your drivers and registry files.
But on a Mac, people rarely shut their systems down, just put them to sleep. Especially on laptops, I personally don't know anyone that shuts their system down -- often for months at a time.
But people do add and remove programs, drag things off their dock, move applications from one folder to another, etc. All those things leave "residuals" behind that can mess up read/write/execute files.
Repairing permissions from time to time clears some of those things out.
It is NOT, however, the be-all-and-fix-all under Tiger and Leopard. Although often it DOES fix those random weird errors.

Similar Messages

Repair permissions what does all these errors mean?

Repairing permissions for “mac”
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Sites".
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified and will not be repaired.
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Desktop".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Documents".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Downloads".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Application Support".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Assistants".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/MIDI Drivers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Digidesign".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Sounds/Alerts".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Sounds/Banks".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Sounds".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/ColorPickers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Compositions".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Favorites".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/FontCollections".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Fonts".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/iMovie/Plug-ins".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/iMovie/Sound Effects".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/iMovie".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Input Methods".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Internet Plug-Ins".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Keyboard Layouts".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Preferences".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Printers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Screen Savers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Sounds".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Voices".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Movies".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Music".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Pictures".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Public".
Permissions differ on "Library", should be drwxrwxr-t , they are drwxrwxr-x .
ACL found but not expected on "Library".
ACL found but not expected on "Applications/Utilities".
ACL found but not expected on "Applications".
Permissions repair complete

Ignore it. I suspect they are not actually "errors." You can search the forum for more information, as this topic has been covered several times. Basically, ARDagent.app is used for the iChat screen sharing service, and it was modified with the Apple Remote Desktop update. The "errors" are more likely the way things are supposed to be, but have not been included in the Disk Utilities exceptions list.
Everyone who has done the update has the SUID warning. Most have ACL exceptions on several folders. You seem to have it on a lot, but I wouldn't worry. That's probably exactly how ACL settings are supposed to be for those folders—Disk Utility just doesn't know it yet.

EA4500 - bridge mode solved all my problems

For what it's worth, putting the EA4500 in bridge mode and using none of its capabilities solved all my access and stability problems.
My setup:
EA4500
Firmware Ver.2.1.39.145204
Bridge mode
Network topology:
comcast supplied cablemodem --- Cisco 871 -- Linksys EA4500
After nickel and diming my home networking for years, I found it's better to just spend the money and be done with it.
I went to this setup shortly before Cisco jettisoned Linksys (maybe Linksys would have been better off never having been bought in the first place, I don't know and that's a different discussion) in 2013 and I've had zero problems and 100% stability ever since.
The Cisco 871 can run for as low as under $100 and you are getting and enterprise-class router that runs Cisco IOS. It's well known, well understood and universally supported. If you ever wanted to learn about networking and Cisco IOS, this is probably one of the cheapest ways to do it. Downside is that the 871 only support 802.11b/g so I use the EA4500 with dual 2 & 5Ghz to support both my 802.11n 5Ghz laptops and newer smartphones and tablets and 2Ghz for the older stuff. Works great.

Thanks for sharing. Will try that in the future.

Why does Disk Utility repair permissions not run?

I'm trying to verify and/or repair disk permissions on my RAID0 array but the utility only briefly flashes the progress bar and does nothing.
Logs show a whole lot of nothing:
2011-09-28 17:00:44 -0700: Disk Utility started.
2011-09-28 17:00:52 -0700:
2011-09-28 17:00:53 -0700:
2011-09-28 17:00:54 -0700:
2011-09-28 17:00:54 -0700:
2011-09-28 17:05:29 -0700:
2011-09-28 17:05:30 -0700:
2011-09-28 17:05:30 -0700:
2011-09-28 17:05:30 -0700:
Each time is an attempt at clicking on verify or repair.
Any idea why that is?

Turns out this is a Lion issue and only happens on RAID arrays. Apple is looking into it.
For anyone with the same issue, the command line version of disk utility does work, i.e:
diskutil repairPermissions /

10.5.1 solved all the problems

I had several problems reported:
-no sleep
-Radeon X1900 zapped by Mathematica software and crashing the computer
which have been all solved by the OS 10.5.1 update.
I can now really start to work with, rather than experiment with, OS 10.5 - which is now in better overall shape for me than the 10.4 (I still keep a disk with that one on it - one never knows...)

And no-ones mentioned the best outcome of 10.5.3...
...a radical decrease in the number of whiny Logic complainers posts about how much Logic ***** and how much DAW XX is so much better and...
Thank goodness for that!
Of course, this is the place to post issues, but whines and moans when not constructed properly just drag the place down and make it not a particularly fun place to hang out, especially for the people that come here more to help out than to post their own questions. Personally, I was just about reaching the end of my patience limit (if I saw another "Logic rant" post I was gonna rip out my internet connection
So three cheers for Apple, eh?
And nice to see some positive words from Rob - glad it's working out for you. We just need to convert Steve back from Mother Alsihad now...

When will Apple solve all the problems with Yosemite

I have problems with Wifi, Mail ,Safari, computer waking up and resuming activity etc...

Apple doesn’t routinely monitor the discussions. These are mostly user to user discussions.
Send Apple feedback. They won't answer, but at least will know there is a problem. If enough people send feedback, it may get the problem solved sooner.
Feedback
Mail Feedback
Or you can use your Apple ID to register with this site and go the Apple BugReporter. Supposedly you will get an answer if you submit feedback.
Feedback via Apple Developer
What are the problems you are having?

Why are my iCal calendars randomly disappearing with all their corresponding events?

Why are my ical calendars randonly disappearing? I updated to Maverick, but one disappeared before I did that update. I have 10 different calendars, each identified by its own color, example: "work" calendar is yellow, my personal calendar is green. Every month or so, one randomly disappears without my even being in the program or changing anything. Along with the calendar ALL its events are gone as well. None of those events show on my iphone, imac, ipad or macboook pro. They just vanish, along with many appointments I have scheduled, and their directions and info. Im SO FRUSTRATED! Im ready to go back to paper.

Got it fixed cal got set for icloud on my iphone. now I can choose them in itunes.

Mountain Lion problems with Mail Signatures, Pages, Numbers, Keynote - This quick fix solved all my problems with these. Pages etc wouldn't launch and needed to be force quitted. Mail signature changes wouldn't save.

The solution was simple in my case. I don't know why it worked and it may have been entirely coincidental but its worth a try.
Close all applications and restart Mountain Lion.
Log in as Guest. I opened Pages at this point but I don't know if that's required.
Log out and then back in as your normal user.
Pages, Numbers and Keynote now were fine for me and Mail signature changes were saved and available for later use.
For those trying to edit the signatures to get their old ones back - I just found an old sent mail and copied the signature there into the newly created one via the normal preferences. No need for opening .mailsignature files and editing them. This included various colours, sizes, an image and a link with no problems.
I hope this helps anyone having some of these problems.

The solution was simple in my case. I don't know why it worked and it may have been entirely coincidental but its worth a try.
Close all applications and restart Mountain Lion.
Log in as Guest. I opened Pages at this point but I don't know if that's required.
Log out and then back in as your normal user.
Pages, Numbers and Keynote now were fine for me and Mail signature changes were saved and available for later use.
For those trying to edit the signatures to get their old ones back - I just found an old sent mail and copied the signature there into the newly created one via the normal preferences. No need for opening .mailsignature files and editing them. This included various colours, sizes, an image and a link with no problems.
I hope this helps anyone having some of these problems.

IPad 2 has slowed down copy paste is not working it hangs when filling in user name , please do something to solve all these problems ,Apple please wake up

IiPad 2 has slowed down with ios8 copy paste is not working it hangs when you try to fill up forms ,Apple engineers you need to do something fast

Apple engineers do not participate here. Have you updated to iOS 8.1 which was just release yesterday? Have you done any other troubleshooting? If you haven't start here.
Go to Settings>Safari>Clear History and Website Data
Now close all apps. In order to close apps, you have to drag the app up from the multitasking display. Double tap the home button and you will see apps lined up going left to right across the screen. Swipe to get to the app that you want to close and then swipe "up" on the app preview thumbnail to close it.
Next, reset the iPad by holding down on the sleep and home buttons at the same time for about 10-15 seconds until the Apple Logo appears - ignore the red slider if it appears on the screen - let go of the buttons. Let the iPad start up.
If those three things made no difference, try this. Reset all settings. You will not lose any data, but most of the device settings will have to be entered in the settings app again. Settings>General>Reset>Reset all Settings.
If all of that fails, restore the iOS software. Backup your iPad before you restore, then restore the backup when you are done. If that still doesn't help, restore your iPad as new and start all over again. Most purchased content can be downloaded again at no charge as long as you use the same Apple ID and as long as the content is still available in the store.
Restore iPad to Factory Settings
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1414
Download Past Purchases
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519

Update solved all my problems

Having posted more than a few nasty things about iWeb 08 on these forums, I now return humbled because the recent software update appears to have fixed all my issues. My 06 site is updated and working like a champ. I'm particularly happy with the new html and personal domain features. Also the site is publishing and loading MUCH quicker. Thank you Apple!
(Next time -- Tags for blogs would be great.)

Oh, also the whole Music Store seems to work smoother and faster now.

10.5.1: Disk Repair Permissions and SUID's

In 10.5.0 I had 3 entries while repairing permissions:
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified and will not be repaired.
and the 2 ACL found lines...
After 10.5.1 was installed...
Warning: SUID file "usr/libexec/load_hdi" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiskManagement.framework/Versions/A/Resources /DiskManagementTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DesktopServicesPriv.framework/Versions/A/Reso urces/Locum" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Install.framework/Versions/A/Resources/runner " has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Admin.framework/Versions/A/Resources/readconf ig" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Admin.framework/Versions/A/Resources/writecon fig" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/libexec/authopen" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/OwnerGroupTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
and of course...
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified and will not be repaired.
The ACL lines have disappeared.
Can anybody explain this? And should I be concerned?
Thanks Chuck

Frankly, I think there are few to any warnings that Repair Permissions throws that you should be worried about, EVER.
People think repairing permissions "repairs" things. It really doesn't "repair" anything. It CHECKS permissions against a set of files which indicate what they were when things were installed. If these permissions were changed in some way (sometimes, this was done INTENTIONALLY), repair permissions will throw errors or warnings, which can be benign.

Unable to Repair Permissions- What should I do?

Hi Guys
My goal is to replace my original internal hard drive on my Power Mac G4, but I have hit a glitch.
I have backed up OSX 10.3.9 on my new External Hard Drive, then made a folder on my external drive called "OSX Backup from G4", and copied all these files into this folder. Then I deleted the original copied back up, and have all this stuff in this "OSX Backup from G4" folder. (I am keeping all my backups from different operating systems in separate folders, i.e. OS 9.2 and OS 10.3.9 from my G4, and OSX 10.4.1 from my Mac Book Pro.)
Ok, then I backed up all the Macintosh HD-OS 9.2 into my new external drive. But when I tried to copy them into a folder called "Macintosh HD Backup from G4", I get this error message:
One or more items have special permissions and cannot be copied. Do you want to skip them?"
So every time this error cam up, I just kept hitting "continue". I am wondering if these files needing permission are necessary, because when I compared the original 0S 9.2 files to the files I copied inside the "Macintosh HD Backup from G4" folder, they seem to match up ok.
So, I tried to repair permissions just to be safe. I inserted the 9.2 install disk, pressed the "C" key to start from this disk, thinking I would see an option for repairing permissions in Disk First Aid, but there is no such option. Am I missing something?
Can I repair permissions for OS 9.2 from the OSX 10.0 Install Disk? (I am currently running 10.3.9).
What should I do? (This whole process seems to be taking forever!)
Thanks for your help.
Anneita

I am keeping all my backups from different operating systems in separate folders, i.e. OS 9.2 and OS 10.3.9 from my G4, and OSX 10.4.1 from my Mac Book Pro.
Hmmmm... I think this is where it gets messy. OSX wants files in special places (some hidden in normal use), with special permissions,and does not like to be dragged from place to place. This is why one uses a cloning tool. Usually when one wants to have multiple OSX versions on the same physical hard drive you have to partition the drive into a separate partition for each version of OSX. I think the only alternative would be to make a disk image and put items there (but they would not be bootable).
I don't know what's going on with OS9 unless it is getting caught up in the confusion generated by dragging system folders into places they don't want to be. In fact OS9's System Folder is pretty much to only one that will tolerate being dragged to another place, especially if you're only interested in using it as Classic. OS9 doesn't use permissions which is why you can't repair permissions on it. It also doesn't use invisible files unless a third party installer placed something there as invisible.

"Can Repair Permissions: no". Why?

Hello,
My computer's hard disk has 5 partitions (except Recovery HDs), whose 4 have valid Mac OS system installed (10.6, 10.5, 10.8 and 10.7).
I'm running 10.6 generally. When I launch Disk Utility, I can verify and repair 3 partitions: 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8. For the 10.5 one, the buttons are grayed out; if I get information about it, all but one thing is expected:
Mount Point:           /Volumes/Macintosh HD
          System Name:           Mac OS X
          System Version:           10.5.8
          System Build:           9L31a
          File System:           Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Writable:           Yes
Number of Files :           863'127
          Number of Folders :           178'997
          Owners Enabled:           Yes
          Can Turn Owners Off:           Yes
          Can Repair Permissions:           No
          Can Be Verified:           Yes
          Can Be Repaired:           Yes
          Can Be Formatted:           Yes
          Bootable:           Yes
          Supports Journaling:           Yes
          Journaled:           Yes
“Can repair permissions” is no…? I can't think of any reason why it would be so. What component decides the value of Can Repair Permissions? What's the problem here?

seventy one wrote:
You have to go a different way with the original post.    I can't remember exactly where it is but an original post offers an option to edit on the top left side I seem to recall, near where it says 'actions'.   The limit is still 15 minutes.
Nice to know, thank you. I'll search further the next time.
Sadly this is the only part of your question I can answer as I have never partitioned four different OS's.
I understand, thanks anyway. However, I'v read the same, unresolved question on this forum (asked years ago), so I don't think partitionning matters.
What I consider a shame is the fact that things like that aren't known from "most users". Looks like Apple just don't document some things and no one seems to ever want understanding the "under the hood" functioning, as if no one cared about knowledge of things unless something is actually acting wrong.
I don't get the point of Apple hiding why "can repair permissions" can be false on a valid system partition, among other things.

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.

Repairing permissions before and after updating software

What is the reason to repair permissions before and after updating software? This may sound like a stupid question to many of you, but I am new to computers and I am trying to learn how and why of some of the things of my PowerBook. I installed some updates without repairing permissions. Did I install some software updates the wrong way? Thank you.

This is a topic which will draw as many emphatic for and against responses as overnight shut down or not, defrag or not, optimise or not, and so on.
I agree with Neil. I believe that OS X has progressed sufficiently that repair permissions has become redundant and so I do not do it on any regular basis.
Some folk may refer you to an Apple Support Article 303602. That Article in its 4 May 2006 version, titled "Top 10 Tips to Keep Your Mac in Top Form" suggested Repair Permissions should be done "after upgrading or installing new software". The Article was however revised on 15 May 2006 to be titled "Top Tips to Keep Your Mac in Top Form" and the item on Repair Permissions [along with two other recommended maintenance tips] was removed. It is my view that the conclusion to be drawn here is that Apple no longer considers Repair Permissions to be a required maintenance procedure.
Many users have adopted a "Repair Permissions" mantra for a cure-all over several years. I dropped it sometime in 10.3.
But, to each his own.
HTH
TiPB 867 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Why do people think repair permissions should solve all their 'problems' ?

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