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Orion27 · May 7, 2003, 01:19 PM

When we get an OSX update, is an canonicle
list of permissions updated in Disk Utility?
I didn't notice a version change in Disk Utility
with this upgrade. This prompts the question.
Where are permissions written? If I run Disk Utility from another booted disk to repair permissions on my main drive, is there an incompatibility? What if I ran repair permissions from a booted disk running 10.2.5 and tried to repair permissions on my main drive running 10.2.6? Incompatiblity?
Just wondering how it works.

JLL · May 7, 2003, 01:37 PM

Originally posted by Orion27:
When we get an OSX update, is an canonicle
list of permissions updated in Disk Utility?
I didn't notice a version change in Disk Utility
with this upgrade. This prompts the question.
Where are permissions written?

It's permissions of every single file, and it's "written" in the file.

Originally posted by Orion27:
If I run Disk Utility from another booted disk to repair permissions on my main drive, is there an incompatibility?

NEVER NEVER do that. Your main drive functions as an external drive when you boot from another disk, and permissions on files on an external drive aren't the same as on a boot disk - it will change all the permissions to the wrong permissions.

EnVoy · May 7, 2003, 01:45 PM

NEVER NEVER do that. Your main drive functions as an external drive when you boot from another disk, and permissions on files on an external drive aren't the same as on a boot disk - it will change all the permissions to the wrong permissions.

Does this go for starting up from the install disk that comes with your machine to repair permissions?

coolmacdude · May 7, 2003, 01:48 PM

NEVER NEVER do that. Your main drive functions as an external drive when you boot from another disk, and permissions on files on an external drive aren't the same as on a boot disk - it will change all the permissions to the wrong permissions. [/B]

Actually Disk Utility won't even allow you to do this. It only lets you repair permissions on the boot drive.

JLL · May 7, 2003, 01:51 PM

Originally posted by coolmacdude:
Actually Disk Utility won't even allow you to do this. It only lets you repair permissions on the boot drive.

Hmm? I can't check now, but I did it a couple of months ago by accident.

JLL · May 7, 2003, 01:55 PM

Originally posted by EnVoy:

Does this go for starting up from the install disk that comes with your machine to repair permissions?

No, the internal harddrive isn't mounted as an external hard drive when you boot from a System CD.

At the situation where it messed up permissions for me I had an iBook in target disk mode and mounted on another iBook.

bradoesch · May 7, 2003, 02:00 PM

I'm not sure whether to start a new thread about this, so I'll post the question and see what happens.

Every time I fix permissions, it finds lots of stuff wrong and says it fixes it. BUT, if I run it again, it'll find the exact same problems that it fixed the first time. Ideas?

JLL · May 7, 2003, 02:11 PM

Originally posted by bradoesch:
I'm not sure whether to start a new thread about this, so I'll post the question and see what happens.

Every time I fix permissions, it finds lots of stuff wrong and says it fixes it. BUT, if I run it again, it'll find the exact same problems that it fixed the first time. Ideas?

It reports some things as having wrong permissions, but they haven't.

There is a KBase article about it, but I don't have the URL.

Sven G · May 7, 2003, 02:39 PM

Maybe a "mad" idea - but shouldn't the OS itself "auto-repair" permissions at startup, exactly in the same way as it automatically fsck's the startup volume...? Would this simple "check-up" be too difficult to implement in imminent, future versions of OS X?

I'm not a file system expert - but, intuitively, it seems to be a feasible option...

JLL · May 7, 2003, 02:56 PM

Originally posted by Sven G:
Maybe a "mad" idea - but shouldn't the OS itself "auto-repair" permissions at startup, exactly in the same way as it automatically fsck's the startup volume...? Would this simple "check-up" be too difficult to implement in imminent, future versions of OS X?

I'm not a file system expert - but, intuitively, it seems to be a feasible option...

You want 40 minute startup times?

sworthy · May 7, 2003, 03:19 PM

...only took 8 minutes here (1Ghz tibook). and you have to figure if it did it on each startup it would take much less time as I've had mine for 6 months and this is the first time I've fixed permissions

JLL · May 7, 2003, 03:38 PM

Originally posted by sworthy:
...only took 8 minutes here (1Ghz tibook). and you have to figure if it did it on each startup it would take much less time as I've had mine for 6 months and this is the first time I've fixed permissions

It takes about the same time at every try since it has to check every single file.

Appleman · May 7, 2003, 05:45 PM

Originally posted by JLL:
NEVER NEVER do that. Your main drive functions as an external drive when you boot from another disk, and permissions on files on an external drive aren't the same as on a boot disk - it will change all the permissions to the wrong permissions.

Well JLL, I still don't see how starting up from a OS X install disk can be done safely, while you are saying it should "NEVER NEVER" be done.

Me neither liked the idea of doing this from a original Jaguar-cd while being at 10.2.6 now.

And yes, it doesn't seem to matter in time if your disk needs lots of repairs or not. Size of harddisk and amount of files do, speed of disk I guess.

On a Ti-500 20 GB it takes very long, like half an hour or so.
Booting from an external 120 GB 7200 rpm disk, it takes a bit shorter since the disk is faster.

On a iMac Bondi Blue (233 whoppiing MegaHerz!!!) it takes a nice ride on a lazy Sunday afternoon

Orion27 · May 7, 2003, 09:10 PM

The question needs to be answered: Is there a
canonicle list of permissions inherent in Disk Utility. If there is, I assume Disk Utility is updated periodically with system updates. How does this relate to the an packaged Apple CD that comes with each computer. And why would the behavior of Repair Permissions
be different from the install CD than boot disk
repairing permissions on another drive?

Orion27 · May 8, 2003, 03:23 PM

Bump. I've noticed update packages in library/receipts. In fact one for every update. These packages are utilized by Disk Utility? I have redundant 10.2.4 update packages.Can you trash the old update packages? I still would like a clarification on DU>

Orion27 · May 8, 2003, 06:27 PM

http://discussions.info.apple.com/We...v.16@.3bc0f5fc

I hope this answers some questions

mrchin · May 8, 2003, 09:38 PM

You can run permissions from a bootable startup disk like the jaguar installer but it is not a good thing. It will likely fix some things but inproperly set certain permissions.

You always want to repair the permissions on a volume from itself as the boot volume.

Appleman · May 9, 2003, 02:41 AM

Originally posted by Orion27:
http://discussions.info.apple.com/We...v.16@.3bc0f5fc

I hope this answers some questions

That is a very interesting and claryfying article indeed!
Now I understand the "man3/db3"-permissionthing at last.

Thanks.

RHV · 08:35 PM

Originally posted by Orion27:
When we get an OSX update, is an canonicle
list of permissions updated in Disk Utility?
I didn't notice a version change in Disk Utility
with this upgrade. This prompts the question.
Where are permissions written?

My understanding from other websites is that the default permissions that DU's Repair Permissions restores are located in /Library/Receipts and are updated with new OS X updates--and other installations that leave a receipt.

No matter whether you run DU's Repair Permissions from your HD or from your (10.2) CD, the database consulted is the same-- /Library/Receipts. (This is also suggested by the fact that if /Library/Receipts is removed and put on your desktop, Repair Permissions will not work--and will not, in particular, work from the CD.)

On the other hand, the DU Repair Permissions program is updated on the HD over the corresponding program on the CD--as the "new permissions are 33261", which arises only from DU run from the HD, would indicate. But that, I am told, does not mean that at present DU's Repair Permissions run from the HD is running more/different permissions checks than DU's Repair Permissions run from the CD.

Whatever the "new permissions are 33261" means, such permissions are not being implemented at present, for one gets the same message all the time. It is just one of those four or five repeating Repair messages that Apple says to pay no attention to.