I messed with Time Machine and messed my disk permissions

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I messed with Time Machine and messed my disk permissions

i manually deleted some folders from my time machine back up and then had to force delete my trash because of files such as "bootx". right after that, i couldn't do anything with my applications folder because i didn't have the proper permissions. i changed the permissions, using the "apply to enclosed items" checkbox and now all of my firewire drives are locked up tight and i can't access them. since these drives contain all of my important data, i'm screwed. tried everything, disk utility, leopard cache cleaner, archive and install, clean re-install, restore system from previous backup. everytime my external hard drives had the "lock" on them and I'm still unable to access them. HELP!!

mac mini, Mac OS X (10.5.3)

Posted on Sep 30, 2008 7:31 AM

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Answer 1

V.K.

Level 9

56,192 points

Sep 30, 2008 7:39 AM in response to grumpee

don't delete anything on TM drive manually. you should do it properly from TM interface. and NEVER use "apply to enclosed items" on your main drive and on ANY system created folders. that includes the Applications folder, your home directory, your desktop folder etc. use it ONLY on folders you make yourself. nothing else.

what exactly did you use "apply to enclosed items " on?

to unlock your externals run the following terminal commands.

sudo chflags nouchg /Volumes/"name of drive"

sudo chmod 775 /Volumes/"name of drive"

\\
put the name of a locked drive in the above. keep the quotes. you'll have to enter your admin password (which you won't see). that's normal.
repeat for every affected drive.

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Answer 2

grumpee Author

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Sep 30, 2008 9:02 PM in response to V.K.

Okay, your advice worked on the externals. THANK YOU! Now, I'm back to my initial issue with the Macintosh HD or system drive. I am unable to modify my applications folder due to insufficient permissions. This occurred directly after I messed with manually deleting the TM folders (will never do that again). I checked the info on the Macintosh HD and they read as follows:

system: read/write
wheel: read/write
everyone: read only

I am tempted to add "admin" as a user with read/write privileges. But to "fix" the issue last time, I added my user account with read/write privileges with the "apply to enclosed items" and, well, you know where that got me. So, I will wait for your reply, before I do anything with the permissions on my system drive. Again, thank you for your prompt and learned response!

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Answer 3

V.K.

Level 9

56,192 points

Sep 30, 2008 9:24 PM in response to grumpee

did you you "apply to enclosed items" to the whole main drive? If so you really messed up permissions on it big time and my best advice would be to do an archive and install which will clear the permissions issues.

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Answer 4

grumpee Author

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Sep 30, 2008 9:59 PM in response to V.K.

i did use the "apply to enclosed items on the whole main drive. i just did a system update to go to 10.5.5. it changed the permissions to:

system: read/write
admin: read/write
everyone: read only

however, i'm still unable to modify the applications and i don't know what else may not be functioning on a read/write level. do you still suggest an archive-and-install?

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Answer 5

V.K.

Level 9

56,192 points

Sep 30, 2008 10:01 PM in response to grumpee

yes, i would because there is just too much stuff you need to fix by hand otherwise.

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Answer 6

grumpee Author

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Sep 30, 2008 11:45 PM in response to V.K.

I did the "archive and install". Still have the same issue with applications. When I attempt to update my skype by drag-and-drop, it asks me if i want to replace the file. i click on "yes". then i get the same message that i do not have sufficient permissions to complete the task. any more ideas, because i'm stumped.

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Answer 7

grumpee Author

Level 1

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Sep 30, 2008 11:51 PM in response to grumpee

never mind. i feel like a complete idiot now. i dumped the earlier version of skype in the trash and was able to add the update without a problem. thanks for helping me out with my external drives. i wonder if this issue wasn't really an issue to start with and was just a program level problem and i ended up doing the nastiest of things to my computer because i didn't know any better. again, i really appreciate you helping me out. i did need to fix my externals and my main drive was buggered (all due to me) and you came to my rescue - THANKS!!

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