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zombie punk · Jul 18, 2008, 01:27 PM

OK, I just moved to a MBP from a PPC system, and love it, but have an annoying problem - when I try to enable the guest account, it hangs the machine. I have to restart. Spinning beachball etc.
I tried creating a new admin account, same issue.
Any ideas? I saw the same problem described on an Apple board, with no solution.

turtle777 · Jul 18, 2008, 01:40 PM

Could be a permissions problem.

Although many people consider it voodoo, I'd try running Repair Permissions.

-t

zombie punk · Jul 18, 2008, 02:09 PM

Thank you - I tried that, and it does not appear to be the issue.

jmiddel · Jul 18, 2008, 02:26 PM

I'd download the combo updater from Apple and apply it.

zombie punk · Jul 18, 2008, 02:46 PM

I'll try that - how is that different from the updates in software update though?

mduell · Jul 18, 2008, 03:50 PM

Did you use Migration Assistant? If you did: make a backup, erase and install OS X, reinstall your apps, and copy your data manually.

zombie punk · Jul 18, 2008, 03:52 PM

I did use MA, and am kind of reluctant to do a reinstall. The convenience of the guest account is probably not worth the hassle of reinstalling for me. Thanks though.

slugslugslug · Jul 18, 2008, 04:41 PM

This happened to me a few months ago, and here's what I think I did: Disable Guest account in System Preferences, delete the /Users/Guest folder, and re-enable Guest account. That should recreate the Guest account user folder fresh, from the template buried deep down in the system somewhere, and hopefully undo whatever corruption happened.

Ironically, several months later, I had a separate Guest Account issue that got fixed with Archive and Install. It seems Apple has some kinks to work out in the (otherwise mostly-great) Guest Account feature.

zombie punk · Jul 18, 2008, 04:47 PM

Thanks. I don't actually have a Guest Folder (or at least, I can't find one...) the only ones I have are my main account and the shared folders. Am I looking in the right place?

Rainy Day · Jul 18, 2008, 04:47 PM

Originally Posted by mduell

Did you use Migration Assistant? If you did: make a backup, erase and install OS X, reinstall your apps, and copy your data manually.

For what it is worth, i used MA when i upgraded from a PPC Mac mini to an Intel iMac running Leopard. I have not had any problems enabling/using the Guest account, so i think this advice is unlikely to bear fruit.

More likely you have a corrupt system preferences Plist file.

If your system is indeed hanging, you should check your logs to see if you find any clue as to why it hung.

I do have fast user switching enabled, and do not normally use an admin account for daily work.

PS: I normally regard Repair Permissions as voodoo, but in this case it was a good guess by turtle777 (too bad it wasn’t the problem!)

zombie punk · Jul 18, 2008, 04:59 PM

Can I go ahead and delete the plist file? Which one would it be? Thanks!

Rainy Day · Jul 18, 2008, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by zombie punk

Can I go ahead and delete the plist file?

Yes, or move it to the Desktop, or rename it. Important safety tip: Close System Preferences before doing this.

Originally Posted by zombie punk

Which one would it be? Thanks!

Offhand, i don’t know. I’ll leave that as an exercise for the user (that would be you!) Sorry.