[bearcatrp]

OK, I did the big no no and screwed with my permissions to early in the morning and screwed up my mac pro badly. I know, BONEHEAD. I knew better too so after 2 days of trying to fix it myself, probably made it worse, I have come for help.
Long story short, my 3 internal drives are locked with custom permissions. I put my backup back on the OS drive thinking I could fix it but it didn't. Tried the chmod 755 on those disks but would not give me permission. Can anyone give me the proper terminal command to unlock these drives or did I screw it up so bad that I am screwed? Thanks for any help.
: brick::b rick:

[Veltliner]

Do you own "Disc Warrior"?

You should, anyway. With Disc Warrior you don't have to mess around with permissions (which never helps anyway). You put in the disc, and repair the folder trees etc., which really helps.

It's just 100$, and worth it.

[Art Vandelay]

Or put in your OS disc and repair permissions. It's free and more worth it.

[bearcatrp]

Already tried disk warrior on the disc needed. The OS disk is ok, or are you saying to use disk warrior on the OS hard drive? I tried it on the drive in bay 2 but it didn't work. I did try repair permissions on the OS from my cloned drive but it shows 9 hrs to do it and quit part way through it because it was so long to do it. Guess I will run permissions on the OS drive and see what happens. Thanks for the help.

[Art Vandelay]

Wait, are the problems only on non-system drives? If yes, Repair Permissions will do nothing for you. If one of the drives is a system drive, then only use it on that drive.

[CharlesS]

When you tried chmod 755, did you add 'sudo' to the beginning of it? Because if you didn't, that would explain the permissions error. Of course, if you try it from the Terminal on the install disc or from single-user mode, then you should be root and should not need sudo.

Here's what I'd try:

1. Boot from the install disc.

2. Choose "Terminal" from the Utilities menu.

3. type the following:

cd /Volumes

chmod 755 "<put the name of your drive here>"

chmod 755 "<put the name of your next drive here>"

etc.

[bearcatrp]

I did do the sudo before the chmod 755 (sudo chmod 755 /volumes/"temp1"). Gave it my password (running as admin) and got the do not have permissions response. I went ahead and started the repair permissions on the OS drive. Guess I will know in 9 hours if it works or not. From looking at the details as its scrolling down, about every line states ACL found but not expected. Was thinking of doing a totally reinstall of leopard but I want to make sure I have access to those disks before I nuke the OS drive. I have to gain access to those drives. My wedding video's I was editing for friends are on one of them and don't have a backup of the unedited stuff. The other important one is my itunes and iphoto disk with about 700gb of data. I'll loose about a month of data if I use my backup disk on that which I don't have originals to.

[Art Vandelay]

Another thing you can do is Get Info on the drives and check Ignore Permissions.

From what you're reporting on Repair Permissions, it sounds like you've been screwing around with permissions a lot.

[bearcatrp]

I did check the ignore permissions on the drive and still no access. Here is what happened. I downloaded the new version of handbrake and and VLC. Not sure why but it wouldn't let me put them in my applications folder. So I went in and changed permissions on the OS drive. Worked. I shut down and rebooted, wouldn't even boot into the OS drive. Had to use my cloned backup on my external to fire it up. Got peed off after a few bad attemps to fix it and cloned back my backup which was 2 weeks old backup. Been going down hill since. Only time I messed with the permissions is when I moved my itunes and iphoto folders to my 2nd drive about 6 months ago, not sure why i had issues doing this, so I adjusted them. Thats the only time I messed with permissions since I got it over a year ago. I do run boinc 24/7 with no issues so don't think that had anything to do with it. My big mistake was doing this when I first got up and not fully awake so I must have did something and didn't realize it was a bad move.

[Hal Itosis]

Have you at least considered listing the items, so folks could actually see what's there (ACLs, flags, owners/perms, etc.)?

ls -abehklO /Volumes

[CharlesS]

What's the exact (not paraphrased) error message you get when you try to chmod the disks?

[bearcatrp]

Well, I got up this morning and permissions where still being worked on. Last night it said 10 to go. That was at 9pm. Got up this morning and it was at 11 hrs and crawling. Said screw it and stopped it. I have disk warrior working on it right now. If this doesn't work, I'll wipe it clean and do a fresh install. I will try a chmod 755 on the itunes disk after disk warrior gets finished and let you know.

[CharlesS]

Huh, that's odd. I wonder if the drive has bad blocks or something. If you see any "slowdown due to disk malfunction" messages, then don't reformat the drive — replace it.

[bearcatrp]

Did not see any message like that. Tried disk warrior but got an error. There is an update so doing that and will try again. Hope it works. Am surprised chmod 755 did not work on disk 2. I will run that after I update disk warrior but before I give disk warrior another try. Be back in a few.

[bearcatrp]

When doing the chmod 755, I get do not have permission. Thats it. Right now I can't get the updated disc warrior to boot from the disk. Starting to get really @!&% off at this.

[bearcatrp]

Anyone use BatChmod 1.51? Found this doing a search but not sure if this is a bad idea.

[bearcatrp]

Disk warrior (the updated one) froze up when it was building the fixes before implementing. Beats me whats going on so will do a clean install but keep my backup (old clone) in case I still need it. Boy this really bites doing this.

[CharlesS]

Did you get any "disk malfunction" messages in DiskWarrior, or hear any strange noises coming from the drive?

BTW: BatChmod is going to be just a GUI around either the chmod program itself or the underlying APIs that the chmod program uses — either way, it's not going to do anything that just using chmod in the Terminal wouldn't do.

[bearcatrp]

No malfunctions, no noises, nothing. The new install is going smoothly. Just doing all my updates. I yanked out all my other drives until I get this set up. Any idea's on getting into these drives? If I have to, I can reformat them and put the backups on them. Will loose some work (not sure what I will loose) but getting frustrated with this.

[Hal Itosis]

Originally Posted by bearcatrp 

Did not see any message like that. Tried disk warrior but got an error. There is an update so doing that and will try again. Hope it works. Am surprised chmod 755 did not work on disk 2. I will run that after I update disk warrior but before I give disk warrior another try. Be back in a few.

When doing the chmod 755, I get do not have permission. Thats it. Right now I can't get the updated disc warrior to boot from the disk. Starting to get really @!&% off at this.

You are surprised that chmod 755 doesn't work? What ACLs or locks are present? Oh, that's right... we don't know yet because -- 20 posts into this thread -- and you still haven't listed the /Volumes folder (which i recently requested)!!!



Troubleshooting is hard enough, without a blindfold.

BTW, the correct command is sudo chmod 775

[bearcatrp]

Sorry.r-ps-mac-pro:~ bearcatrp$ ls -abehklO /Volumes/scratch1
ls: .: Permission denied
ls: ..: Permission denied
ls: .DS_Store: Permission denied
ls: .Spotlight-V100: Permission denied
ls: .TemporaryItems: Permission denied
ls: .Trashes: Permission denied
ls: .com.apple.timemachine.supported: Permission denied
ls: .fseventsd: Permission denied
ls: Audio Render Files: Permission denied
ls: Capture Scratch: Permission denied
ls: Desktop DB: Permission denied
ls: Desktop DF: Permission denied
ls: Final Cut Express Documents: Permission denied
ls: Render Files: Permission denied
ls: Untitled Project 1.fcp: Permission denied
ls: William & Joleen Wedding.iMovieProject: Permission denied
ls: iMovie Events.localized: Permission denied
ls: iMovie Projects.localized: Permission denied
ls: testxbench.pdf: Permission denied

This for 1 of the 3 disks I can't get in. Hope this helps.

[bearcatrp]

This is when I do just volumes:r-ps-mac-pro:~ bearcatrp$ ls -abehklO /Volumes
total 4
drwxrwxrwt@ 7 root admin hidden 238B Nov 28 22:13 .
drwxrwxr-t 31 root admin - 1.1K Nov 28 16:17 ..
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root admin - 1B Nov 28 21:19 MacP -> /
drw-rw-r--+ 18 503 staff uchg 680B Nov 19 09:14 Scratch
0: 8DAAC2D5-1E50-4962-B060-D5D058799EC1 allow list,add_file,add_subdirectory,readattr,writeattr, readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drw-rw-r--+ 21 503 staff uchg 782B Sep 22 20:35 Scratch1
0: 8DAAC2D5-1E50-4962-B060-D5D058799EC1 allow list,add_file,add_subdirectory,readattr,writeattr, readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drw-rw-r--+ 33 bearcatrp staff uchg 1.2K Aug 31 10:23 Tiger
0: 8DAAC2D5-1E50-4962-B060-D5D058799EC1 allow list,add_file,add_subdirectory,readattr,writeattr, readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drw-rw-r--+ 21 503 staff uchg 782B Sep 10 10:43 iTunes
0: 8DAAC2D5-1E50-4962-B060-D5D058799EC1 allow list,add_file,add_subdirectory,readattr,writeattr, readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity

[Hal Itosis]

Originally Posted by bearcatrp 

Code:
$ ls -abehklO /Volumes
total 4
drwxrwxrwt@  7 root       admin  hidden  238B Nov 28 22:13 .
drwxrwxr-t  31 root       admin  -       1.1K Nov 28 16:17 ..
lrwxr-xr-x   1 root       admin  -         1B Nov 28 21:19 MacP -> /
drw-rw-r--+ 18 503        staff  uchg    680B Nov 19 09:14 Scratch
 0: 8DAAC2D5-1E50-4962-B060-D5D058799EC1 allow list,add_file,add_subdirectory,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drw-rw-r--+ 21 503        staff  uchg    782B Sep 22 20:35 Scratch1
 0: 8DAAC2D5-1E50-4962-B060-D5D058799EC1 allow list,add_file,add_subdirectory,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drw-rw-r--+ 33 bearcatrp  staff  uchg    1.2K Aug 31 10:23 Tiger
 0: 8DAAC2D5-1E50-4962-B060-D5D058799EC1 allow list,add_file,add_subdirectory,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drw-rw-r--+ 21 503        staff  uchg    782B Sep 10 10:43 iTunes
 0: 8DAAC2D5-1E50-4962-B060-D5D058799EC1 allow list,add_file,add_subdirectory,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity

The uchg flag is what's killing the chmod attempts. This much should restore "normality". (Copy/paste as one line to save time):

sudo chflags nouchg /Volumes/*; sudo chmod 775 /Volumes/*

The ACLs are harmless enough (nothing saying "deny"), but are probably unnecessary. (i'll ignore them if you will).

The ownership is dubious on several volumes (503), meaning some other account you had (or still do on another machine) was granted ownership... thus your access to them will be via group (staff) read/write, by necessity. [i prefer to let system own all volumes and use admin group access... but many things are possible.]

--

Well... i only hope that will be enough. If your initial permission changes were propagated recursively all the way down through those volumes, then perhaps some carefully crafted recursive (-R) fixes will be needed as well.

[bearcatrp]

I appreciate the help. I just need access to verify or back up what I need, then will reformat them and put the originals back on it. I wiped the OS disk and put the backup on it so thinking thats what they were looking for (I guess). Even though it was screwed up. If I reformat these disks, will it correct this temporary fix I am about to do?

[bearcatrp]

I'm in. The folders and files are locked but will work on that. THANK YOU for your help!

[Hal Itosis]

Unlocking recursively is safe enough:
sudo chflags -R nouchg /path/to/folder

[recursive chmoding is a bit slipperier, and i'd prefer to see what the items need before proceeding... if necessary.]

[bearcatrp]

Lets if if I understand you so I don't screw this up.
sudo chflags -R nouchg /iTunes/iTunes
The first itunes is the name of the second disc. The folder inside is called itunes as well.
Couldn't I open get info and add permissions for myself (my account is not shown)? There is an unknown in there but wasn't about to mess with it.
As soon as I have access to all files in all disks, I plan on copying everything to an external disk, reformat the internal disks, then putting everything back. This should correct all permissions on all disks, correct?

[Hal Itosis]

Originally Posted by bearcatrp 

Lets if if I understand you so I don't screw this up.
sudo chflags -R nouchg /iTunes/iTunes
The first itunes is the name of the second disc. The folder inside is called itunes as well.

/iTunes/iTunes is not a valid path (at least not normally).
Going by what i see above, /Volumes/iTunes is valid.

Originally Posted by bearcatrp 

Couldn't I open get info and add permissions for myself (my account is not shown)? There is an unknown in there but wasn't about to mess with it.

Adding permissions doesn't unlock locked items. [EDIT: in fact the lock itself prevents that approach... right? ]

It's hard to answer general questions sometimes. Besides being locked, those 4 volumes above were rendered inaccessible because they lacked a "search" bit (directory with no 'x's):

drw-rw-r--

Any folder with with perms like that is essentially locked (in the sense that no one can get "in". It could be deleted though. Or... if we know an exact path inside ahead of time, then that known sub-item's content can be viewed... it's weird).

If i can see a listing of a specific problem-item, then i could comment more confidently.

Originally Posted by bearcatrp 

As soon as I have access to all files in all disks, I plan on copying everything to an external disk, reformat the internal disks, then putting everything back. This should correct all permissions on all disks, correct?

I really don't know.

I mean... copied how? (Finder, rsync, some other utility?), and with what privileges? (admin authorized to run as root, or just basic user drag-n-drop?), and to which location? (are permissions even enabled on the destination?).

If you do it by "cloning" with admin authorization, and the target disks have permissions enabled... then the result will probably retain the identical ownerships/perms you have now.

idunno. Much is possible... and much is a matter of taste. I'd rather have direct ownership of an item or let root own it and get access via admin or staff. E.g., some of those items owned by '503' should probably be turned over to your current uid:

sudo chown bearcatrp /Volumes/Scratch1

Again, that only affects the top level. Using find, we could locate all items owned by '503' and take possession:

sudo find / -user 503 -exec chown bearcatrp {} +

I'm assuming that the account which had uid 503 must be gone (as far as the current OS is concerned), otherwise it would have displayed some username instead of a uid number. (Likewise for those odd-looking ACLs above).

I really didn't intend to tinker around too much here... just wanted to restore what you had before, and let you take it from there.

Will the copy/put-back procedure you propose effectively do something like that? [i.e., "correct all permissions on all disks" ]

I couldn't say. [but -- whatever the result -- it could always be tweaked.]

[bearcatrp]

I did get into itunes volume to make sure my iphoto file was the good one vs the back up which was out of date. Dragged it to my backup disc to replace it. Then I formatted the original itunes volume twice, once I split into 2 volumes, then back to one, checked the permissions and all is well. Used super duper and copy back from backup to original. Ran out of time for work so will test it tomorrow to insure it works. I do know on my 2 scratch discs that I cannot access those videos. I will tackle that once my itunes volume is up and running. Thanks again for all your help. Saved me from the other half chompin on my rear end for loosing photos.

[bearcatrp]

Finally got total control of all the disks and files. Thanks again on the help. Just had to adjust permissions on the video files, move stuff around to reformat the disks, etc.. I vagly remember (it was to early in the morning), I tried to install VLC and it wouldn't let me put it in the applications folder so I checked permissions, then added administrator. After it let me add VLC, I rebooted. Bam, dead in the water. Won't be doing that again. Thanks again. Saved my rear end.

[locutus_nz]

Hi Hal Itosis

Did a search in google for my locked disk error and came across your solution. it worked brilliantly and on a drive I REALLY needed to access.

have created a login for this forum, just so I could say thank you

Thank you

Originally Posted by Hal Itosis 

The uchg flag is what's killing the chmod attempts. This much should restore "normality". (Copy/paste as one line to save time):

sudo chflags nouchg /Volumes/*; sudo chmod 775 /Volumes/*

The ACLs are harmless enough (nothing saying "deny"), but are probably unnecessary. (i'll ignore them if you will).

The ownership is dubious on several volumes (503), meaning some other account you had (or still do on another machine) was granted ownership... thus your access to them will be via group (staff) read/write, by necessity. [i prefer to let system own all volumes and use admin group access... but many things are possible.]

[all2ofme]

I'm another one stumbling on this thread after it's long been consigned to something other than the front page

I've got an issue with my external drive (Lacie in the list below):

Mollbook:Volumes ben$ ls -abehklO /Volumes
total 4
drwxrwxrwt@ 8 root admin hidden 272B 11 Jul 20:06 .
0: group:everyone deny add_file,add_subdirectory,directory_inherit,only_i nherit
drwxrwxr-t 30 root admin - 1.1K 11 Jul 18:53 ..
drwxr-xr-x 1 ben staff - 12K 8 Jul 11:18 BOOTCAMP
drwxrwxr-t 28 root admin - 1.0K 11 Jul 18:21 Backup
drwxr-xr-x 14 ben staff - 544B 1 May 17:20 Lacie
drwxrwxr-x 14 ben staff - 544B 1 May 17:20 Mirror
drwxrwxr-t 29 root admin - 1.0K 5 Jul 11:39 Tempbackup
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root admin - 1B 11 Jul 18:53 Tiddler -> /

The issue is some odd permissions on my Aperture library (and potentially other areas). Apparently I have custom access:

_unknown - Read & Write
staff - Read only
everyone - Read only

There's nothing on this disk that needs to retain any special permissions as far as I know. It's a data drive, not bootable, no system files etc.

Is there something sensible I can do to get the ownership back to where it should be?

I've already done chmod 755 "Lacie", but that hasn't helped.

[AKcrab]

Why don't you just File > Get Info on the drive and select "Ignore Ownership" on the drive.

[all2ofme]

Good question - answer is that I'd feel much more comfortable knowing that it'd only be my user who could make changes/work with my Aperture libraries/iTunes libraries etc.

Note - Have created a new topic at http://forums.macnn.com/90/mac-os-x/...ve-other-ideas so as to better describe the issue/detach it from this old zombie topic. Any tips, please post there instead.

[P]

Thread closed. New questions should be in new threads to decrease confusion, like has already been done with the last question. Since this thread has already been zombiefied twice, it likely shows up when searching, so it's best if I close it down.