pullman

Q: Must account name really match home folder name?

For the last several OS X versions, I've had my user home folder on a separate HDD in my Mac Pro and linked that folder to my account name in Sys Prefs - Account Name - Advanced. I have done clean installations for each OS version rather than upgrade.

 

Could there be problems if I haven't named my account name in El Capitan exactly the same was as I named my account in Mavericks? For instance, under Mavericks my account name was Firstname but on El Capitan I made it FirstnameLastname.


This Apple document says that "Because the account name is used to create a user's home directory (also known as the user's home folder), the account name and home folder name must match."

 

I am wondering because after installing El Capitan it takes quite a while for my Mac Pro to reach the desktop - boot until password prompt is quick, but after I type in the password it takes more than a minute for the desktop to show. Under Mavericks the desktop loaded very quickly (seconds) with the same user folder.

 

I'm trying to troubleshoot the slow loading. So far I have tried safe boot (without improvement) and if I create a new user the desktop loads within seconds from the password. Beyond Dropbox and iTunes (which load fast), I have no software set to start automatically.

 

Thanks very much in advance

Philip

Mac Pro 3,1, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1), 2x3TB 2xSSD+Sonnet TempoPro ACD 23"

Posted on Dec 30, 2015 11:25 PM

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Q: Must account name really match home folder name?

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  • by pullman,

    pullman pullman Jan 2, 2016 12:46 AM in response to pullman
    Level 4 (1,148 points)
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    Jan 2, 2016 12:46 AM in response to pullman

    Just a gentle bump. Thanks for your help.

  • by chroot,

    chroot chroot Jan 2, 2016 12:55 AM in response to pullman
    Level 4 (1,099 points)
    Jan 2, 2016 12:55 AM in response to pullman

    Yes, the Apple document saying the home folder and account name need to match is correct.

     

    If you tested in a new user and it loads much quicker than you have successfully isolated the issue to being single user and not system wide.  Are you positive both are using the same home folder in /Users with the same user library at /Users/ACCOUNT-NAME/Library?

     

    Check the following:

     

    System Preferences -> Users & Groups ->

    Unlock the pane by clicking the lock button

    Select your account then click Login Items

     

    Remove all login items (iTunes Helper is there by default on every account and can be left)

     

    Open Finder, select Go then Go to Folder.

     

    Go to ~/Library/LaunchAgents

     

    Move everything to the trash (do not empty)

     

    Go to ~/Library/Caches


    Move everything to the trash (do not empty)

     

    Reboot

     

    If the issue is resolved, you can one by one move Launch Agents and Login Items back until the issue has occurred.

  • by pullman,

    pullman pullman Jan 2, 2016 12:29 PM in response to chroot
    Level 4 (1,148 points)
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    Jan 2, 2016 12:29 PM in response to chroot

    Thank you very much for the reply. I appreciate it a lot.

    Are you positive both are using the same home folder in /Users with the same user library at /Users/ACCOUNT-NAME/Library?

    No (apologies, my initial post was probably unclear). The main account has the home folder on a separate HDD, whereas the test account has the home folder on the boot drive in /Users.

     

    The main account's home folder does have a Library folder (on the separate HDD), but I don't find a Library folder in /Users/testaccount. Perhaps that's because I am booted into the main account?

     

    I checked the contents of LaunchAgents for the main account's Library. The following three files are there:

     

    com.google.keystone.agent

    com.plexapp.mediaserver

    com.shirtpocket.backupbytime

     

    No idea what the first two are. I have Chrome installed and years ago installed Plex to try it out. I do have SuperDuper (which is made by Shirt Pocket). Anyway, I trashed these as well as the contents of ~Library/Caches but it still takes a while for the desktop to load.

     

    Yes, the Apple document saying the home folder and account name need to match is correct.

    Ok, thanks for confirming this. My account name is firstnamelastname. The home folder is located in and called /Volumes/Home (Sys Prefs - Users & Groups - Advanced). Could this mismatch between the account name and the home folder name be causing the delay? BUT, in Mavericks I also didn't call the account "Home"; rather it was (I think) Firstname. And then there was no delay.

     

    I thought it could be a peripherals question, but that wouldn't explain why it loads fast on the test account with the same peripherals connected (which are only a wireless Apple keyboard and an old Wacom Bamboo pad).

     

    Thank you for any further thoughts.

    br
    Philip

  • by pullman,

    pullman pullman Jan 3, 2016 2:51 PM in response to pullman
    Level 4 (1,148 points)
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    Jan 3, 2016 2:51 PM in response to pullman

    I guess my basic question is - do I need to change make sure the account name is the same as the home folder's name (which is the HDD's name)?

    Thanks for any insights

    Philip

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Jan 3, 2016 6:12 PM in response to pullman
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Jan 3, 2016 6:12 PM in response to pullman

    The HDD name can be anything. The home folder and account name must match but this does not apply to the HDD name.

  • by pullman,

    pullman pullman Jan 4, 2016 1:01 AM in response to Duane
    Level 4 (1,148 points)
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    Jan 4, 2016 1:01 AM in response to Duane

    Thank you Duane. Just so I understand. In my case, the home folder (as set under Users & Groups - firstnamelastname - Advanced) is set to "/Volumes/Home". So there is a mismatch between the account name (firstnamelastname) and the home folder name. Perhaps I am misunderstanding what you mean by "home folder". My home folder is at the top level of the separate HDD (which only contains one volume).

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Jan 4, 2016 6:29 AM in response to pullman
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Jan 4, 2016 6:29 AM in response to pullman

    pullman wrote:

     

    Thank you Duane. Just so I understand. In my case, the home folder (as set under Users & Groups - firstnamelastname - Advanced) is set to "/Volumes/Home". So there is a mismatch between the account name (firstnamelastname) and the home folder name. ...

     

    Not sure where you are looking since I don't see an Advanced button in the Users & Groups preference pane.

     

    ... Perhaps I am misunderstanding what you mean by "home folder". My home folder is at the top level of the separate HDD (which only contains one volume).

     

    The home folder is /Users/youruserid

     

    Your hard drive can be called "Macintosh HD" (the default) or "Star Base IV" or any other semi random text that you want. This has nothing to do with what your home folder is called.

  • by pullman,

    pullman pullman Jan 5, 2016 2:07 PM in response to Duane
    Level 4 (1,148 points)
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    Jan 5, 2016 2:07 PM in response to Duane

    Hi Duane, apologies for the delay in replying.

     

    I meant that if one right-clicks the user name in Users & Groups (having first "unlocked" clicking the padlock) there is an option for Advanced Options.

     

    For my main account, the following info is present:

     

    account name: firstnamelastname

    full name: firstname

    Home directory: /Volumes/Home

     

    Under /Users my home folder is, indeed, firstnamelastname. Thanks for pointing me to this, which I understand means all is well on this front.

     

    Still it doesn't explain the slow loading of the main account from password to desktop.

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Jan 5, 2016 2:57 PM in response to pullman
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Jan 5, 2016 2:57 PM in response to pullman

    pullman wrote:

     

    ...

    Home directory: /Volumes/Home

     

    ...

    Is that really what yours is set to? 

     

    In that dialog, mine looks like:

    Home directory: /Users/firstnamelastname

  • by pullman,

    pullman pullman Jan 6, 2016 12:53 PM in response to Duane
    Level 4 (1,148 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 6, 2016 12:53 PM in response to Duane

    Hi Duane,

     

    I just double-checked to be sure I haven't confused all the terms, but yes it does say "Home directory: /Volumes/Home".

     

    It is odd, though, that the home directory being called "Home" hasn't caused troubles on any of my previous OS installations. It's been called that since at least Lion.

     

    I guess I should try the method in the Apple doc to change the account name and home directory/folder name to continue troubleshooting. Or can you think of something else to try first?

     

    Thank you

    Philip

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Jan 6, 2016 2:55 PM in response to pullman
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Jan 6, 2016 2:55 PM in response to pullman

    Make sure that you backup everything before trying to change the account name or home directory.