Permissions Repair Error: ARDAgent.app

Excellent. Yes, I'm up to date on my apps.

Thanks a bunch! 🙂

lol, exactly.

sigh

Folks, I've been using Leopard for the last 5 to 6 months. That warning is not anything to worry about, nor are any ACL warnings, or 95% of the other things Repair Permissions states.

Folks, sorry, but your assumptions about how long Disk Utility should take to repair permissions (based on OS X 10.4.x and prior) are just plain wrong.

I don't care how long disk permissions take or if one or more files are reported unrepairable (as long as it is not critical). But the fact that I am shaving a few minutes off my boot times is significant to me.

Yep, that did it. Permissions are now correct.

Thanks bud! 🙂

Although the message from Apple is reassuring, I wanted to check what would happen if I replaced ARDAgent.app v3.2.1 (installed by Software Update immediately upon upgrading from Tiger-erase-and-install,) with the previous version 3.2 that came with the Leopard DVD install.
Before that, I tried to repair permissions in Terminal '$ sudo diskutil repairPermissions /', when the new version was present and active, and got the same results as reported by other forum members who used Disk Utility, the warning etc...
After replacing v3.2.1 with 3.2 and restarted, the same command in Terminal gave a clean output.
I launched Software Install, and it brought the 3.2.1 update, which I didn't run, and I have still v3.2.
I believe this means that Apple has not discarded this update from its Software Update servers, and there must be a good reason for that, not negligence or overview.

The blurb that came with the 3.2.1 update reads: "Apple Remote Desktop 3.2 Client Update
The 3.2 client update is recommended for all users and addresses numerous issues related to overall reliability, usability and compatibility.
NOTE: It is recommended that Apple Remote Desktop version 3.2 Clients can only be managed by Apple Remote Desktop version 3.2 Administration software. Please ensure that you have upgraded your Apple Remote Desktop Administration software to version 3.2 before upgrading your clients.
For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n306490"

I am not using Apple Remote Desktop, and I am not experiencing any of the possible problems detailed in the above link. On the contrary, everything seems to run extremely well.
I am not going to recommend to restore v3.2 or to install 3.2.1. I have this Macbook Intel Core 2 Duo running with ARDAagent.app 3.2, and a Powerbook PPC running version 3.2.1 (where Disk Utility's output when repairing permissions has indicated all the warnings that have already been reported by other forum members.
I hope this will enable me to compare, although we are talking about totally different CPUs.

I do hope Apple kicks in any time soon with a practical solution that would be better than its previous reassuring message.

"A few minutes?"

I don't believe you, that this is the cause of several minutes of delay. I have this error and my boots on both machines are plenty fast -- as fast or faster than Tiger.

Ever look at the console log during startup and see if there are any messages indicating what the problem specifically is?

It takes about 3 minutes to boot. The delay went away right after I deleted the file and is now back that I reinstalled it with Pacifist (although repair permissions doesn't show an error). Since there is the boot delay again, I am probably going to go ahead with the Software Update install of the file and see what happens. I'm one of those gullible people who actually take Apple at their word that the updates are a good thing 🙂

But I am not really asking you to believe me that the boot takes that long, just reporting what is going on. If you really want me to show you, I suppose I can make a movie and upload it to my server? (Not.)

As far as the console log, I am happy to dig that out and tell you what it says. I'm a little unsure of what that actually means as I am not really that savvy at the internal workings of the OS. but seriously, I would be happy to post that for you if you're really interested.

If you open up Console in /Applications/Utilities and click on the "All Messages" option, you should see a bunch of stuff, for example here's what I see when coming out of sleep:

11/8/07 5:40:35 PM kernel AFPSleepWakeHandler: going to sleep
11/8/07 5:40:36 PM kernel hibernate image path: /var/vm/sleepimage
11/8/07 5:40:36 PM kernel sizeof(IOHibernateImageHeader) == 512
11/8/07 5:40:36 PM kernel Opened file /var/vm/sleepimage, size 2147483648, partition base 0xc805000, maxio 400000
11/8/07 5:40:36 PM kernel hibernate image major 14, minor 2, blocksize 512, pollers 4
11/8/07 5:40:36 PM kernel hibernate allocpages flags 00000000, gobbling 0 pages
11/8/07 5:40:36 PM kernel 11D beacon causing regdomain change to CC 840
11/8/07 5:40:36 PM kernel en1: 802.11d country code set to 'US'.
11/8/07 5:40:36 PM kernel en1: Supported channels 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 149 153 157 161 165
11/8/07 5:40:38 PM kernel System SafeSleep
11/8/07 7:22:03 PM kernel hibernate page_listsetall start
11/8/07 7:22:03 PM kernel hibernate page_listsetall time: 256 ms

If you check the entries that happen right after you start the machine, and see a big pause in there, perhaps you'll get an idea as to what's snarfing up that 3 minutes.

Hi Micheal:
1. Did you upgrade or fresh install?

2. Have you tried cleaning the caches?

The topic for this thread should be: " How to break parts of your OS for no good reason"

Seriously people, this is a non-issue - most of you have no idea what you're talking about or doing, and are giving damaging advice to others. Stop it.

Disk Utility has a database of what it thinks permissions should be - nothing more. If that database is wrong, or hasn't been updated after a package upgrade, then any warnings given by Disk Utility are therefore wrong also.

ARDAgent.app is part of the Remote Desktop (Screen Sharing) components of Mac OS X Leopard, and deleting it (which many of you have suggested) will only cause problems. Others have suggested deleting it and installing the original version that came on the install DVD, which again, is just going to cause you more problems.

The Remote Desktop update fixed a number of real problems with the version that shipped with Leopard, but in doing so it didn't correctly update the permissions database that Disk Utility uses. That's all.

Move along... Nothing to see here...

I agree not a real problem, but a lot of people are learning how to work around problems and fixing things the way they want. So I applaud all the "fixes" posted. IMHO

I agree it is not a real problem. I also agree it was a good thing that people thought of a work around...to a non existing problem. Be be that as it may, I believe Apple has the obligation to kick in with a practical solution, an update to Disk Utility or whatever medicine that will remedy the problem, and not only Prozac style reassuring documents.

And let's keep smiling, really. 🙂

Yep that's right it's not a real problem, only an "imaginary" one kinda like the "imaginary" problems with Apple's first release of the 10.4.10 Tiger combo update that mysteriously disappeared off Apple's server only to be replaced the 10.4.10 combo update v1.1.

I still have a copy of that "imaginary" update. Since there is nothing wrong with it but "imaginary" problems, I'll be glad to share it with anyone that will settle for nothing less than the all original copy of the 10.4.10 combo update!

You have only to promise me that you will never ever use any other 10.4.10 update except this original copy on any of your computers.

I solemnly promise, and let the Gremlins of cyberspace, as well as The Force (be with you), be witnesses to that promise.
Now seriously: IF Apple's Disk Utility is affected with some "bug" related to its data base, as it has been suggested, why did I get the same warnings when repairing permissions through Terminal, by command line instruction? There's something wrong with Terminal's database? I know very little about the Terminal, and have learned how to manage with it, but I don't know about Terminal's bugs. Maybe there are.

And more seriously: please, everybody, don't answers those questions, let's drop this matter, and contemplate a placid week end?

Hi Charly,

I'm not buying the old "Bug in the database argument". I reset the permissions several times by hand in the terminal. The ls -al command reported the permissions on the ardagent executable file(s) were indeed correct after running disk utility. I think leopard may be sensing changes somewhere in the ardagent application itself, probably something is amiss in one of the executable files.

Anyway it's not just permission that go astray after the updated ARDAgent app is installed, programs quit working (eg: Parallels desktop requires many tries to get it to load), leopard slows down and becomes unstable.

I hope they fix it soon.