[ProfitProphet]

Need help fixing a dumb screwup.

I was stupidly trying to fix a network access snafu and did a Get Info on the System boot drive of a dual G5 Power Mac running OS X 10.5.7. I set the privileges on all to Read & Write and Apply to enclosed items, changing every file on the disc to Read & Write for all users.

Needless to say, all of the drives attached to the machine suddenly couldn't be accessed, and on attempt to reboot, the machine will not boot. I can't even get it to boot from the OS X installer DVD.

I've pulled the boot drive from the machine and attached it to an Intel dual Power Mac running Lion 10.7.1.

I'm not very proficient with Terminal or Unix commands. I have poked around the forums seeking an answer and haven't come up with enough to fix the file permissions on the drive to try putting it back in the machine yet.

Here is what I get as an overview of the drives now attached. The last drive is the drive I'm trying to repair, Internal-SATA1-1-5TB:

macpro-dfa4dc:~ Michael$ ls -abehklO /Volumes
total 4
drwxrwxrwt@ 6 root admin hidden 204B Aug 22 21:34 .
0: group:everyone deny add_file,add_subdirectory,directory_inherit,only_i nherit
drwxr-xr-x@ 36 root wheel - 1.3K Aug 22 21:04 ..
drwxrwxrwx 1199 Michael staff - 40K Aug 18 13:58 2TB External 1
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root admin - 1B Aug 21 01:38 3.92 TB RAID 5 -> /
drwxrwxrwx 22 Michael staff - 816B Aug 22 21:19 4TB ExtRAID
drwxr-xr-x@ 37 root admin - 1.3K May 26 14:58 Internal-SATA1-1-5TB

This is what that drive alone looks like:

macpro-dfa4dc:~ Michael$ ls -abehklO /Volumes/Internal-SATA1-1-5TB
total 21128
drwxr-xr-x@ 37 root admin - 1.3K May 26 14:58 .
drwxrwxrwt@ 6 root admin hidden 204B Aug 22 21:34 ..
0: group:everyone deny add_file,add_subdirectory,directory_inherit,only_i nherit
-rw-rw-rw-@ 1 root admin hidden 21K Aug 22 20:37 .DS_Store
drwxrwxrwx@ 5 root admin hidden 170B Aug 22 20:12 .Spotlight-V100
drwxrwxrwx@ 3 root admin hidden 102B Feb 11 2010 .TemporaryItems
drwxrwxrwx@ 2 root admin hidden 68B Mar 24 2010 .Trashes
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root admin - 243K Jul 24 2009 .VolumeIcon.icns
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root admin - 250B Feb 11 2010 .apdisk
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root admin - 0B Mar 28 2009 .com.apple.timemachine.supported
drwxrwxrwx 7 root admin - 238B Aug 22 21:04 .fseventsd
-rw-rw-rw-@ 1 root admin hidden 128K Apr 12 2009 .hotfiles.btree
drwxrwxrwx@ 5 root admin hidden 170B Mar 22 2010 .private
drwxrwxrwx@ 2 root admin hidden 68B Sep 24 2007 .vol
drwxrwxrwx 49 root admin - 1.6K Aug 21 17:34 Applications
-rw-rw-rw-@ 1 root admin hidden 11K Jun 11 2009 Desktop DB
-rw-rw-rw-@ 1 root admin hidden 2B Mar 28 2009 Desktop DF
drwxrwxrwx 53 root admin - 1.8K Jul 1 2010 Library
drwxrwxrwx@ 2 root admin hidden 68B Sep 23 2007 Network
drwxrwxrwx 4 root admin - 136B Mar 24 2010 System
drwxrwxrwx 5691 root admin - 189K Aug 22 13:58 TorrentFiles
drwxrwxrwx 6 root admin - 204B Aug 22 16:21 Users
drwxrwxrwx@ 11 root admin hidden 374B Aug 22 16:24 Volumes
drwxrwxrwx@ 40 root admin hidden 1.3K Mar 24 2010 bin
drwxrwxrwx@ 2 root admin hidden 68B Sep 23 2007 cores
dr-xr-xr-x@ 2 root wheel hidden 68B Sep 25 2008 dev
lrwxrwxrwx@ 1 root admin hidden 11B Mar 24 2010 etc -> private/etc
dr-xr-xr-x 2 root admin - 68B Mar 24 2010 home
-rw-rw-rw-@ 1 root admin hidden 9.9M Jul 15 2009 mach_kernel
-rw-rw-rw-@ 1 root admin hidden 10M Jul 15 2009 mach_kernel.ctfsys
dr-xr-xr-x 2 root admin - 68B Mar 24 2010 net
drwxrwxrwx@ 6 root admin hidden 204B Mar 23 2010 private
drwxrwxrwx@ 69 root admin hidden 2.3K Jun 28 10:56 sbin
lrwxrwxrwx@ 1 root admin hidden 11B Mar 24 2010 tmp -> private/tmp
drwxrwxrwx@ 10 root admin hidden 340B Mar 24 2010 usr
lrwxrwxrwx@ 1 root admin hidden 11B Mar 24 2010 var -> private/var

I tried running Disk Utility's Repair Permissions, which only would work on this system's boot drive, 3.92 TB RAID 5. I wish I had not done that, as now, after it "repaired" all the permissions on this system, it now seems to be messed up somewhat too. Suddenly I'm prompted to enter my password for every write operation. I suspect it has to do with the "everyone deny" showing up in the list.

Any help that I can understand and execute will be deeply appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[P]

The only advice I can give is to reinstall the OS on the G5. Can you boot from the install disk without the HD attached?

[ProfitProphet]

Originally Posted by P 

Can you boot from the install disk without the HD attached?

No. I've been trying a variety of things. When the hard drives are removed and an OS X 10.5 disk is in the DVD drive, I only get a folder with a system icon that slowly alternates with a question mark.

I've tried holding down the C key on startup, to no avail.

If the hard drive with the system on it is attached, I only get a light gray screen with the Apple logo in a darker gray. No animations. If I leave it on for a few minutes in that state, the fans start to run at high speed so I shut it down.

Holding down the C key on startup that way doesn't work either.

I've tried holding down the command-option-P-R keys to reset PRAM and NVRAM (held them down just after startup for a long time) and that doesn't seem to do anything either.

I've tried resetting the PMU on the motherboard.

Nothing seems to be doing what it should.

[badidea]

Have you tried the ALT key instead of the C key? Should give you an option to choose the CD as the boot volume...

[P]

Can you try going in to Open Firmware by holding Command-Option-O-F? Also, what DVD are trying to boot from - the system recovery DVD that came with the G5?

[schuey100]

This is funny. Idiotic. Definitely bonehead. I know this because I did exactly the same. Don't wipe anything yet, I did find a solution unfortunately I can't remember it off the top of my head....I might be able to figure out what I did to solve it once I get back home after work in a couple of hours. I'm certain I found the answer on the official Apple forums. Be back as soon as I've figured it out.

[schuey100]

Right, I remember, I used the instructions found at Apple: Mac OS X 10.5: Renaming or saving after using "Apply to enclosed items" on a Home folder

Resolution
Log in as the affected user account.
Open Terminal (in /Applications/Utilities).
Type this followed by Return:

sudo chmod -RN ~

Note: If the affected user has no account password, sudo will not work. See Sudo command requires a non-blank admin password for more details.

Note: The character after "-RN" is a tilde (~).

Start up from the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard installation DVD (insert the disc, restart, and hold the C key as the computer starts up).
Choose Reset Password from the Utilities menu in the Installer.
Select the Mac OS X 10.5 drive.
Select the affected username.
Click the "Reset" button in the "Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs" section.
Quit the Reset Password application.
Quit the Installer.
Start up from the Mac OS X hard disk volume (not DVD).

Note: Any custom access rights set for items in the Home folder will be removed.

------

Now I remember also not being able to log in to the account, so I don't remember exactly how I followed those instructions, perhaps I managed to Firewire target the Mac to another Mac and run it from there, I'm sorry I don't remember. I do remember that the above solution worked a treat though. Fixed all the permissions and made me happy! Sorry I can't be more helpful than that. If my memory comes back I'll let you know.

[ProfitProphet]

@badidea and @P - I have indeed tried the Alt (Option) key as well as Command-Option-O-F to no avail. Nothing happens.

I am attempting to boot from an OS X 10.5 system installer disk.

@schuey100 - The sudo command sounds like it would work if I could get the system to boot from the installer disk.

Thanks for the suggestions.

* - EDIT - * I have just discovered that the Option key on the left side of the keyboard appears to be the culprit. After trying the Option key in combinations on the right side of the keyboard I'm finally getting the expected responses and have managed to boot from an Installer disk.

I have reset the passwords and ACLs and am running Permissions Verify (it's finding thousands) and will Repair them and attempt to reboot from the system drive next.

[P]

That's an odd one... I would have got to "try a new keyboard" eventually, I think, but it was not the first thing I though of.

[ProfitProphet]

Well, at least some progress is good although not fixed yet.

Permissions Verify and Repair ran and did its thing for about 3 hours.

Attempted reboot from system drive, get spinning boot up animation, then goes into endless loop of reboots. Takes about a minute each time for the looping reboot to occur.

New ideas?

[CharlesS]

While it's a longshot, you could start it with the Command and V keys down, and see if the errors/warnings that appear right before the reboot happen to be anything revealing.

[reader50]

Archive reinstall of the system - this replaces the system files while preserving the user folders and a few other things. At the very least, it will allow the system to boot again.

Boot from the Install DVD. The installer will offer options to choose the install type.

[P]

At this point, I'd just reinstall.

[ProfitProphet]

@CharlesS - I've tried Command-V (from both ends of the keyboard) and can't get any text messages, just the spinning boot up animation until it once again loops and reboots.

I'm pretty sure it has to be a permissions issue.

I can launch Terminal from the Installer disk. I'm not savvy enough with Unix shell commands to know how to navigate in it much.

@reader50 - The installer (10.5) is not allowing a reinstall onto the boot drive as the boot drive has been updated via online downloads to a newer version (10.5.7), unless I do an Archive and Install. Is that a safe thing to do?

I have a larger drive (2TB) that I've been wanting to clone the existing system drive (1.5TB) to and install.

If I install and update a clean System onto the 2TB drive as the A drive, is there a safe way to migrate everything from the 1.5TB drive? I can attach it as an external or internal in the B slot.

Or, would I do well to clone the 1.5TB onto the 2TB (so I have a preserved backup) and do the Archive and Install on the 2TB and update the OS to the latest version that way? Is it 6 of one/half a dozen of the other? Is either preferable or more efficient?

Thanks for your help and patience.

[P]

Yes, Archive & Install is perfectly safe, but I would install on the new drive and use Migration Assistant to copy over data from the old installation. It comes up as an option after booting on a fresh install IIRC, so use that to copy your home directory. Once it is finished, you can finish booting and copy anything else just in the Finder. Depending on what applications you have, you might want to reinstall them rather than copy.

[ProfitProphet]

@P - Thanks. I'm starting that process now. I'll report back upon successful completion.

[ProfitProphet]

Thanks to everyone who offered helpful suggestions and moral support.

I have successfully restored the entire system with zero data loss.

As a side benefit, I upgraded both internal 1.5TB drives to 2TB drives, which I had been planning to do anyway, just not under duress.

[FireWire]

Please excuse my ignorance, but why would setting everything Read and Write would cause problem? Some things must be locked to work?

[P]

Originally Posted by FireWire 

Please excuse my ignorance, but why would setting everything Read and Write would cause problem? Some things must be locked to work?

Some things must actually be locked to work. Certain system files will verify that they and their settings files are owned by root and not writable by anyone else, and if that is not the case, they will throw an error. This is to guard against hacking attempts.

It may also be that the change removed the setuid bit that some file needs to work.