accidentally deleted "wheel" group

Question

accidentally deleted "wheel" group

Hello, I accessed the "Get Info" dialogue box of my "Private" folder (Macintosh HD/Private). Then, I went to the "Sharing & Permissions" section of the dialogue box and deleted the "Wheel" group. I later decided that this was a bad idea, and tried to reinsert the "Wheel" group by clicking the "Add New User or Group button" only to discover that the "Wheel" group was not available. Can anyone tell me how I can correct this mistake and assign Sharing and Permissions for the "Private" folder to the "Wheel" group?

Thank you very much.

Message was edited by: Tommy Madejowa

Message was edited by: Tommy Madejowa

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Apr 11, 2009 1:31 PM

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Answer 1

V.K.

Level 9

56,174 points

Apr 11, 2009 1:42 PM in response to Tommy Madejowa

you should NEVER change permissions on any system folders. also the folder /Private should normally be hidden. did you do something to unhide it?
run repair permissions using disk utility and permissions on that folder should be fixed.

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Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Apr 11, 2009 1:47 PM in response to Tommy Madejowa

Open your Terminal application in the Utilities folder. At the prompt enter:

sudo chown root:wheel /Private

Press RETURN. You will be prompted to enter your admin password. It will not be echoed.

As a further precaution open Disk Utility and repair permissions for the startup volume.

In the future a good rule to follow is this: If you don't know what you are doing or the consequences of doing it, then don't do it.

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Answer 3

nerowolfe

Level 6

13,090 points

Apr 11, 2009 2:38 PM in response to Tommy Madejowa

Welcome to Apple Discussions:
Do you have a backup of your OS? If not, time to start.
Apple recommends never using an administrator account unless you are actually administrating.
In general, never do anything unless you are 100% sure of the consequences, or are wiling to accept whatever happens and only then, if you have a backup.
Toying around with system files is fraught with danger, even for those who are experts.

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