[t_hah]

I had a pretty nasty hard drive crash. I got to get my files off of the drive after using Carbin Copy Cloner. I replaced the drive and using Disk Utility I copied the files back to the new drive.

Most things seem to be working, except that the /etc /var and the other files in the root directory are visible. How does Tiger hide these files and why are they visible on my system?

I ran the permissions repair, but I am not sure why these folders are visible in the Finder.

Thanks,

t

[vinster]

If you have disk warrior, try running it and see if it fixes the issue. You could also reinstall with the archive and install option and see if that works.

[TETENAL]

[…]

Originally Posted by vinster

reinstall with the archive and install option

[wataru]

Don't bother with that! In Tiger, the /.hidden file is still supported. In the Terminal, just do the following:

Code:
sudo -s
[enter password]
echo "var" >> /.hidden
echo "etc" >> /.hidden
...

I added the sudo part because he might not be the owner of /. Do this for each item you want to hide, replacing the quoted string with the name of the item. If the Finder doesn't hide the items right away, log out and log back in.

I don't think the contents of /.hidden need to be in alphabetical order, but if it doesn't work you could try that too.

Edit: Actually, scratch that. Just do this:

Code:
sudo touch /.hidden
[enter password]
open -a textedit /.hidden

That will first make sure the file exists, and then open it for editing in TextEdit. If prompted, choose to overwrite when you save.