[BTP]

I have had a few issues a while back that repairing disk permissions fixed. I had installed a few apps and I guess that during the installation, the permissions had become altered.

Now I have taken to running repair permissions about evertime after an install.

I was doing this again today and I wondered, why does this happen and is it Apple's 'fault' or the maker of the software I install?

[MountainMac]

From what I understand, it's the fault of the installer that "breaks" permissions...

MM

[Millennium]

I would have to say it's both.

The problem is in the way installers are made using Apple's system. The archiving tool pax (which Apple's installer uses) has been described as a "dictator". As in, it insists that when you unpack something, it unpacks in exactly the same condition it was packed into. This wouldn't be so bad, except that it goes so far as to modify the system without telling you in order to make this come about. It will modify permissions in existing folders, and it will even break symbolic links to folders and replace the links with folders that have those names. This can really wreak havoc on a system.

People have learned to work around the symlink-breaking limitation by now. But the permissions limitation is far more insidious, because if an installer is made on a system with damaged permissions and installs something which was contained in a folder with damaged permissions when it was made, it will damage the permissions on any hard drive it installs to in the same way.

I'm not sure, but I think CharlesS' software Pacifist can get around this, if you install using it rather than the stock Apple installer. But really, the whole installer system needs to be replaced. Pacifist is great, but there are some limitations that even it can't fix.

[BTP]

Thanks for the explaination.

I never cease to be amazed at the information that I find here.