Access denied to Windows created files on shared Mac partition

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Access denied to Windows created files on shared Mac partition

I have a shared partition on an Intel Mini acting as a file server in my office. The partition is set to "Ignore ownership on this volume". I'm sharing with Macs and Windows XP machines. Everything worked great under OS X 10.4, but since upgrading to 10.5 I've had some problems with windows created files.

From Windows I can copy a file onto the shared partition with no trouble, but if I move the file to another directory on the partition, or even if I move a pre-existing file to another directory on the partition, all access privileges are lost. I can't do anything with the file from any machine (mac or windows). I have to go back to the Mini, enter the admin password and change the access privileges for "everyone" from No access to Read & Write.

I was hoping 10.5.3 might fix this as I did with 10.5.2, but it's still a problem.

Any help would be appreciated

Mac OS X (10.5.3)

Posted on May 30, 2008 10:02 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 8, 2008 3:41 PM in response to rm567

I have the exact same problem, with 10.5.3, upgraded from 10.4. Worked fine in 10.4.

Anyone from Apple out there listening? I think a lot of people are having this problem...

Rick Frank

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Answer 2

RodneyW

Level 4

3,041 points

Jul 8, 2008 5:18 PM in response to rm567

This could be a side effect of the way that Leopard handles file modifications.

When you modify a file, OS X Leopard actually copies it to a temporary directory. This directory is known by a UNIX variable $TMPDIR. Any file that is created through this directory will inherit permissions from the $TMPDIR. In effect you are not modifying the original file, you are creating a new file... (the OS deletes the old one when it copies the "new" one back to the right place).

I have no idea why Apple made this change. It seems like a backward step.

Thus, your issues could be related to the permissions settings for $TMPDIR. By default, these permissions are read write for the owner, and no access for anyone else.

Possible solutions: (I can't verify these, they are just ideas)

1) Change the permissions for $TMPDIR so everyone has read-write. This has consequences for all files and is not desirable.

2) Change your file sharing so that it is not "public". That is, set permissions to be evaluated on the partition, and access the partition via authenticated file sharing. If you do this, you will need to enter the username and password on the other computers when first accessing the partition. This is probably the better solution, and (once set up) should not interfere with the operation of the network.

Read [this document|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8201.html] for more information on file sharing with Leopard and Windows.

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