Keychain: double login entry

Question

Level 2

162 points

Keychain: double login entry

How come that, in my Macbook, the Keychain app often has two login entries? They seem identical. I remove one - which sometimes solves problems, i.e. apps not saving passwords - but when I check again a few days later, I see again the duplicate login entry. How do I get rid of it forever?

MacBook + iMac G4, Mac OS X (10.5.1), 250 Gb LaCie firewire external HD

Posted on May 22, 2008 11:58 PM

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Answer 1

May 23, 2008 1:52 AM in response to Mr Moto

Hi,

two suggestions:
• Delete both entries and see if that helps. You'll then have to enter the login info by hand the next time.
• In the Keychain Utility there's a *Keychain First-Aid* in the menu bar where you can scan and repair your keychain. Wort a try...

Björn

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Answer 2

Mr Moto Author

Level 2

162 points

May 23, 2008 2:48 AM in response to Björn Herrmann

Deleting both entries: I did that before, and I regretted it painfully. All my passwords gone 😟
I was lucky to have Time Machine.

The repair function: I tried it in the past. Now I tried it again. Well, let's keep our fingers crossed, see what happens.

Grtz

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Answer 3

Mr Moto Author

Level 2

162 points

May 23, 2008 5:12 AM in response to Mr Moto

Like I expected: the second login entry is back, in spite of Keychain Repair Man. 😟

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Answer 4

May 23, 2008 7:23 AM in response to Mr Moto

Hmm, that sounds weird. To be sure that the keychain has no problems I'd try this next: Move the keychain to your Desktop. It resides in /Users//Library/Keychains/login.keychain. Then see if the problem occurs again. If it does, it must be something else. If it does not, you have the pain to enter all your saved logins again by hand, but hopefully only this one time. If the double entries are always coming from 1 specific app I'd also assume a problem there instead of the keychain...

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Answer 5

Mr Moto Author

Level 2

162 points

May 23, 2008 8:12 AM in response to Björn Herrmann

Thanks - but I think it is time for a Major Operation, which I never had to do since I switched from Windooooze, some four years ago: format the computer and make a clean install from scratch. This Keychain app problem is not the only one. Also the SP1 update from Microsoft Office is a pain in the a*. Now I first have to find out what is the best way to back up all my docs, prefs en plists.... (deep sigh)

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Answer 6

May 23, 2008 8:27 AM in response to Mr Moto

OK, that is also an option. 🙂 In a case like this I would recommend to make a complete clone of your HD either to another disk/partition or into a disk image. So you have a complete backup of the current state. Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! will do this just fine.

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