technolemming
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Changed "Get Info" permissions, now system won't load

I made a huge mistake and hope someone can help. I  clicked on the Macintosh HD icon, did "Get Info" and under Sharing, changed the setting for "Everyone" to "No access". I left the user (read/write) and admin settings the same. Immediately after, access to everything was cut off. After restarting the computer, the apple icon loads, the the spinner starts to show the system loading, then it freezes owith the grey screen + apple, but that's it. I've restarted multiple times, got in via command -R and checked out disk utilities - disk and permissions verify fine.  Any ideas, or idid I forever padlock this system??

Posted on Feb 22, 2013 1:08 PM

by Niel,Solvedanswer
Niel Niel
Level 10 (313,375 points)
Mac OS X
A:

Keep going; that message means that some cleanup was performed on the drive.

 

(77398)

Posted on Feb 22, 2013 5:45 PM

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Q: Changed "Get Info" permissions, now system won't load

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  • by mende1,Helpful

    mende1 mende1 Feb 22, 2013 1:10 PM in response to technolemming
    Level 10 (93,324 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 22, 2013 1:10 PM in response to technolemming

    The only solution is to reinstall OS X. Hold Command and R keys while your Mac is starting and reinstall OS X, so you should be able to access to OS X again. If not, you have to erase the disk with Disk Utility and reinstall OS X again, losing all the files you didn't back up

  • by Niel,Helpful

    Niel Niel Feb 22, 2013 1:11 PM in response to technolemming
    Level 10 (313,375 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 22, 2013 1:11 PM in response to technolemming

    Restart with the Command and S keys held down and run the following:

     

    mount -uw /

    chmod 1755 /

    exit

     

    (77397)

  • by technolemming,

    technolemming technolemming Feb 22, 2013 5:12 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 22, 2013 5:12 PM in response to Niel

    Hi Niel:

     

    Thanks so much for your help. since I've never messed with anything behind the scenes, I wanted to check with you that this looks right. After starting using command-S, a ton of code loads, ending with :/ root#  so I typed the mount -uw / immediately after. Here's what it looks like:

     

    :/ root# mount -uw /

    chhfs: Removed 2 orphaned / unlinked files and 3 directories

    :/ root #

     

    yikes. does that look right before continue with chmod 1755 /  and exit per your note?

  • by Niel,Solvedanswer

    Niel Niel Feb 22, 2013 5:45 PM in response to technolemming
    Level 10 (313,375 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 22, 2013 5:45 PM in response to technolemming

    Keep going; that message means that some cleanup was performed on the drive.

     

    (77398)

  • by technolemming,

    technolemming technolemming Feb 22, 2013 5:54 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 22, 2013 5:54 PM in response to Niel

    thank you SOOOOO much!!! I'm in, put the sharing back to original settings, and I restarted to make sure. You are terrific!

  • by Ace Edit,

    Ace Edit Ace Edit Apr 29, 2013 7:47 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Apr 29, 2013 7:47 PM in response to Niel

    Thanks Niel. You saved my day. Cannot thank you enough.

  • by vinaybalaji,

    vinaybalaji vinaybalaji May 3, 2013 8:19 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 3, 2013 8:19 PM in response to Niel

    simply brilliant!

  • by MINIBARF,

    MINIBARF MINIBARF Jul 10, 2013 9:34 AM in response to technolemming
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 10, 2013 9:34 AM in response to technolemming

    Worked somehow.  Thanks Niel.

  • by Selwas,

    Selwas Selwas Jul 19, 2013 5:19 AM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 19, 2013 5:19 AM in response to Niel

    Thank you so much Niel!!!!!

  • by J & F,

    J & F J & F Jul 31, 2013 7:05 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 31, 2013 7:05 PM in response to Niel

    Another workaround that just saved my day:

     

    I connected my MacBook Pro to another Mac & started up in target disk mode - from there I was able to reset the harddrive permissions.

     

    After playing around with the permissions for so long, I am just slightly confused:

    what are the recommended settings for harddrive permissions? Obviously not "Everyone: No Access"! ;)

  • by DDAVID5765,

    DDAVID5765 DDAVID5765 Sep 4, 2013 9:19 AM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 4, 2013 9:19 AM in response to Niel

    dude you saved me from have to go to the genius bar two days in a row with this answer. Luv you man

  • by wheezer606,

    wheezer606 wheezer606 Oct 14, 2013 8:25 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 14, 2013 8:25 PM in response to Niel

    I have an IMac i5 with OS 10.8.5. Just one of the several external USB drives has "custom" permissions set in its Get Info window. I can click the unlock icon, enter my password, but I can not change the permissions. Will this sequence of terminal commands allow me to unlock and change the permissions for just the one external drive?

    mount -uw /

    chmod 1755 /

    exit

     

    If yes, at what point do I specify which drive I want to change?

    The drive to be changed is NOT the boot drive.

     

    Thanks for your help.

    gbof

  • by bruce2005,

    bruce2005 bruce2005 Jan 17, 2014 9:28 PM in response to technolemming
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 17, 2014 9:28 PM in response to technolemming

    Hi,

    I have the same problem by applying accidently the "permission No Access to Macintosh HD icon. After I restared the computer, the apple icon loads, the the spinner starts to show the system loading, then it freezes with the grey screen. I've restarted multiple times and tried via command -R and checked out disk utilities - disk and permissions verify fine. I tried to load OSX Lion from the Apple website (by Command+R procces), entering my Apple ID and Password but I got the message that my software (OSX Lion) was not bought by this ID.

     

    I precise that I bought my iMac used with OSX Lion already installed on it about 2 years ago.

    I am an Apple customer since 2005 and I bought other computer from Apple but this is the first time I have a problem.

    I am really stuck and any help or assistance would be realy appreciated.

    Thank you and best regards

  • by KeynotePlayer55,

    KeynotePlayer55 KeynotePlayer55 Apr 8, 2014 8:52 AM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iTunes
    Apr 8, 2014 8:52 AM in response to Niel

    Such a simple fix, yet it worked for me as well.

    I really need to understand permissions better. That's the 2nd time I've messed with them thinking I was "improving security" and I ended up breaking things very badly. Thank You!

     

    Note that I am running Mavericks 10.9.2, not Mountain Lion.

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