Permissions locked folders

Question

growler62000 Author

Level 2

195 points

Permissions locked folders

I am the administrator & sole user of my iMac.

For some unknown reason I have 3 folders (under Documents) that are locked. When I access “Get info” under permissions it says “you can only read.” My name is listed correctly under name column & under the Privilege column says “read & write.” Under the general section at the top I can check or uncheck the “sharing” box but the “locked” box (which is checked) is grayed out. On the lower right of the window I can click the lock & enter my Admin password & then the lock is open. Yet, I cannot uncheck the locked box as it remains grayed out. Also I am unable to change the privilege from read & write for me or for everyone, it immediately goes back to what it was.

All the posts I found either say to log in as administrator (I already am) or to enter certain commands in Terminal or to log in as Root.

Am I missing something obvious? Any ideas as to WHY a few folders decided to lock themselves? More importantly is there a simple way to unlock them?

I also checked get info on several non-locked folders & the lock box is also grayed out.

How is it that I as the administrator am not allowed to change these settings? These are not system folders. One is a folder I created years ago & the others are My Music & My Videos. I can’t imagine that they are supposed to be locked by default.

Thanks for any help.

iMac 24" 2.8 GHz Core 2 Extreme, Mac OS X (10.6.2), 4 GB RAM, LaCie d2 Quadra 500 GB HDD (Win XP Pro-Boot Camp)

Posted on Jan 20, 2010 4:28 AM

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Answer 1

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,858 points

Jan 20, 2010 4:54 AM in response to growler62000

Is that the Documents folder in your home, or is it someplace else.
There are probably some ACLs on the folders that are overriding the posix permissions.
In the Terminal type

ls -ale

and drag the folders to the Terminal window. Now hit return.
For each folder, you should see the permissions for the folders (the lines with the two dots (..)).
Below that you should see lines beginning with a number and colon, like 0: everyone deny delete.
Can you post the output for just the folder entries (we don't need to know about what is in them)? You can mask out your username if you wish.

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Answer 2

growler62000 Author

Level 2

195 points

Jan 20, 2010 5:34 AM in response to Barney-15E

Yes, It is the Documents folder in my Home.

Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ ls -ale/Users/Iconoclast/Documents/HELP
ls: illegal option -- /
usage: ls [-ABCFGHLOPRSTUWabcdefghiklmnopqrstuwx1] [file ...]
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My\ Music
-bash: /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My Music: is a directory
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My\ Videos
-bash: /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My Videos: is a directory
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$

Thanks,

Steve

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Answer 3

thomas_r.

Level 7

32,031 points

Jan 20, 2010 6:21 AM in response to growler62000

Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ ls -ale/Users/Iconoclast/Documents/HELP

You needed to add a space after the "ls -ale" and before you dropped the folder.

Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My\ Music
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My\ Videos

You also needed to repeat the "ls -ale " on both of these lines. Try just pasting in these commands (one at a time, pressing return after each):

ls -ale /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/HELP
ls -ale /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My\ Music
ls -ale /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My\ Videos

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Answer 4

growler62000 Author

Level 2

195 points

Jan 20, 2010 1:47 PM in response to thomas_r.

Thanks Barney & Thomas.
Quite a difference! Much information. Here it is:

Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ ls -ale /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/HELP
total 4232
drwx---rwx+ 71 Test staff 2414 Nov 8 2007 .
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx@ 275 Test staff 9350 Jan 20 04:42 ..
0: group:everyone deny delete
1: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 3 Test staff 102 Nov 8 2007 Ad-Aware
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 27136 Dec 29 2004 AutoComplete settings.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 24064 Jun 29 2006 Clear a program from systray at bootup.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 10 Test staff 340 Nov 8 2007 DVD player
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 17 Test staff 578 Nov 8 2007 Delltalk posts
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 78 Mar 17 2002 Desktop.ini
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 29696 Jan 9 2004 Disk Cleanup, Scandisk And Defrag In Windows XP.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 114688 Sep 9 2006 Empty Prefetch.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 31232 Feb 19 2002 FILE tr. Q to Dell supp.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 3 Test staff 102 Nov 8 2007 Firefox
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 27648 Aug 7 2002 Grolier QT installation.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 4 Test staff 136 Nov 8 2007 HP Posts
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 25088 Jul 25 2006 How Do I Remove Photo Downloader Icon.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 285696 Aug 15 2007 How to Troubleshoot Hardware Problems with Device Manager.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 93184 Jul 24 2006 How to stop qttask from loading.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 3 Test staff 102 Nov 8 2007 IE
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 35840 Feb 20 2002 Install NetBEUI on Windows XP.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 36352 Jun 20 2002 Logitech Batteries.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 12 Test staff 408 Nov 8 2007 MS Newsgroups
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 24576 May 1 2006 Make XP Desktop Icon Labels Transparent.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 20992 Mar 18 2002 Microsoft virtual machine.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 19968 Feb 18 2002 NAV Rescue XP.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 59904 Feb 19 2002 Network Troubleshooting Windows 95.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 64512 Feb 18 2002 OL98-move data.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 3 Test staff 102 Nov 8 2007 OLE
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 60416 Feb 18 2002 Outlook 97 exp.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 3 Test staff 102 Nov 8 2007 PDR
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 37888 Feb 22 2002 PIP Error Message.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 5 Test staff 170 Nov 8 2007 Palm
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 3 Test staff 102 Nov 8 2007 Power supply
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 24576 May 15 2002 Restoring XP file.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 4 Test staff 136 Nov 8 2007 Roxio Easy CD Creator
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 27136 Aug 11 2002 SHUTDOWN slow.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 27648 Jul 11 2005 Safe mode.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 89088 Jun 6 2002 Sony MovieShaker 3.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 27648 Jul 11 2005 System Restore XP.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 34816 Mar 16 2002 Update a Sound Card Driver.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 12 Test staff 408 Nov 8 2007 Virtual Dr. posts
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 25600 Mar 18 2002 W. Media Player & XP.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 25088 Mar 2 2002 Win98 utility.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 24064 Jul 29 2006 Windows Firewall.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 44032 May 27 2006 Windows.chm Error Message.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 8 Test staff 272 Nov 8 2007 Word
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 33792 Feb 18 2002 Word2002 flashes hangs.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 35840 Mar 6 2002 XP taskbar takes 5 min to load.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 24576 Feb 21 2002 XP-95 network notes.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 25088 Apr 18 2004 XP-prefetch.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 19968 Feb 16 2002 ZA & NAV.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 20992 Feb 16 2002 ZA & Windows Critical Update.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 20480 Feb 16 2002 ZA & Word & Excel.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 33792 Mar 4 2002 activate XP.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 24576 Feb 21 2002 browser clearing.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 26112 May 8 2005 ccApp.exe.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 20480 Aug 4 2005 domain member or not.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 24576 Mar 18 2002 drive letter.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 20480 Feb 14 2002 excel & works.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 25600 Mar 2 2002 google searching a web site.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 25088 Mar 4 2002 grolier& quicktime.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 25088 Aug 4 2005 log on to XP without typing a password.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 37888 Feb 19 2002 network Windows 95.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 61440 Feb 19 2002 networking troubleshooting.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 43520 Mar 12 2002 new computer hassles.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 26112 Feb 17 2002 open excel in works.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 4 Test staff 136 Nov 8 2007 printing
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 30208 May 30 2004 ptsnoop.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 25600 Mar 1 2002 roxio cd updates.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 24576 Mar 7 2002 save message without attachment.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 27136 Feb 18 2002 trojan horse from ZA.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 25600 Feb 16 2002 updates Y or N.doc
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ ls -ale /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My\ Music
total 16
drwx---rwx+ 5 Test staff 170 Nov 8 2007 .
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx@ 275 Test staff 9350 Jan 20 04:42 ..
0: group:everyone deny delete
1: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 108 Nov 8 2007 Desktop.ini
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 542 Nov 15 2001 Sample Music.lnk
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx+ 6 Test staff 204 Nov 8 2007 iTunes
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ ls -ale /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My\ Videos
total 1288
drwx---rwx+ 5 Test staff 170 Nov 8 2007 .
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
drwx---rwx@ 275 Test staff 9350 Jan 20 04:42 ..
0: group:everyone deny delete
1: user:Iconoclast allow list,add file,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 108 Nov 8 2007 Desktop.ini
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 6144 Oct 19 2004 Thumbs.db
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
-rwx--xrwx+ 1 Test staff 643170 Nov 19 2002 Windows Movie Maker 2 Sample File.WMV
0: user:Iconoclast allow read,write,append,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$

Reply

Answer 5

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,858 points

Jan 20, 2010 3:25 PM in response to growler62000

It looks as though you set up your folders for sharing giving yourself access, then you changed permissions in the Finder and applied to all subfolders. Is this correct?

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Answer 6

growler62000 Author

Level 2

195 points

Jan 20, 2010 5:38 PM in response to Barney-15E

Barney,

I’m not sure. I am the sole user & used to have file sharing OFF but, when I upgraded from Leopard to Snow Leopard I had some trouble moving files to & from my Windows Boot Camp partition. (I run it as a virtual machine using VMware Fusion) So after researching I believe I enabled file sharing to see if that helped. I am not on any network. I may have applied permission to all subfolders since I have no reason to deny myself access to any folder or subfolder.

As you see my user name is Iconoclast. When I look at get info for any folder 1st under names is:
“Iconoclast (Me)”
I never would have added the “(ME)”
Is that a default in Mac OS X?

If other Mac users just have their user name listed without the (Me) perhaps that is an issue?

Message was edited by: growler62000

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Answer 7

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,858 points

Jan 20, 2010 8:03 PM in response to growler62000

All of those files and folders look like they came from Windows. I don't know what permissions should be there based on that. But, on the Mac, your home directory should look like the Desktop folder, except the two others listed:

drwxr-xr-x+ 38 username staff 1292 Jan 20 00:01 .
 0: group:everyone deny delete
drwxr-xr-x 7 root admin 238 Jan 9 16:27 ..
drwx------+ 6 username staff 204 Jan 20 06:50 Desktop
 0: group:everyone deny delete
drwxr-xr-x+ 6 barney staff 204 Jul 20 2008 Public
 0: group:everyone deny delete
drwxr-xr-x+ 5 barney staff 170 May 6 2008 Sites
 0: group:everyone deny delete

The single dot ( . ) folder is your home, and the two dots is the /Users folder. Files and directories inside the Documents folder only needs to look like these:

-rw-r--r--
drwx------

But, they could have additional permissions.

As you can see from your results, you've got an additional ACL that looks like it was created by File Sharing. However, it should not be propagated to all files and folders. If you use the Finder to set permissions, and then tell it to copy to all subfolders and contents, it also copies the ACLs that you don't see. Most of us consider this a major flaw.

You also seem to have the owner of all of your files as Test. You should be the owner of all your files. This is the problem you have with unlocking the folders. Here is what the privileges are:

drwx---rwx+ 71 Test staff 2414 Nov 8 2007 .
0: user:Iconoclast allow list,addfile,search,add_subdirectory,deletechild,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity

You can read and write because you are given specific permission in the ACL, but you don't own the folder, so you cannot unlock or delete the folder--no permissions given for that.
Take a look at [Troubleshooting permissions issues|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2963?viewlocale=en_US]

To get rid of the ACLs, run this command. It is best to copy and paste:

sudo chmod -RN ~

sudo will ask for your admin password. It will not echo anything to the screen while you type.

To set you as the owner, run this command:

sudo chown -R `id -un` ~

Finally, boot off the Snow Leopard DVD, and after selecting a language, choose "Reset Password" Then select your account and click the "Reset" button in the "Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs" section. Restart and you should have your home folder correct.

Oh, and finally, the (Me) is just highlighting the fact that it is you.

Reply

Answer 8

growler62000 Author

Level 2

195 points

Jan 21, 2010 10:39 PM in response to Barney-15E

Barney,

I used PCs for a decade b4 I switched to Mac 2+ years ago. So of course I moved my files over. That should have absolutely no bearing on this issue. I think you are basing your comment on seeing a lot of windows terms in the Help folder. Virtually all are Word docs that have copy/pasted info from troubleshooting the many Windows problems over the years. The fact that The My Videos folder & the My Music folder have the exact same problem suggest the trouble has nothing to do with the contents of the folders. Actually I don’t even use those 3 folders & have never added items to My Music & My Video.
“Test” is a 2nd Admin account I created (but don’t use) based on advice to have a 2nd Admin account available for troubleshooting purposes.

I do not understand how I am not the owner of these 3 folder. You say the Terminal info indicates that “Test” is the owner. I logged in as Test & in the Document folder (Test’s Documents) there is absolutely NOTHING since I never use that account & never added anything to Documents. But, (Still logged in as Test) I navigated to Iconoclast folders & there I found my Document folder with all my stuff. I went to each of the locked folders & using Get Info I easily unlocked then all! For some reason all my folders must be owned by “test” rather than by Me (Iconoclast) --As you stated---I wonder if this happened when I had the HD replaced & upgraded to Snow Leopard & then manually dragged all my folders (including Documents) back over from my Time Machine Backup.

I want my folders back under my ownership. What if I delete the “Test” account? WIll the folders automatically be reassigned to my ownership? Iconoclast will be the only account on the Mac except for Guest & those folders owned by Test are all in the Iconoclast Home folder anyway. And what if I disable File sharing? I doubt I really need it. I was attempting to make it easier to move files to & from WIndows Partition.

If not, I think I will try the Terminal commands you suggest soon.

sudo chmod -RN ~

and then

sudo chown -R `id -un` ~

But, I don’t understand why I would then need to reset my Admin password.

Thanks!

Reply

Answer 9

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,858 points

Jan 22, 2010 4:31 AM in response to growler62000

growler62000 wrote:
Barney,

I used PCs for a decade b4 I switched to Mac 2+ years ago. So of course I moved my files over. That should have absolutely no bearing on this issue. I think you are basing your comment on seeing a lot of windows terms in the Help folder. Virtually all are Word docs that have copy/pasted info from troubleshooting the many Windows problems over the years. The fact that The My Videos folder & the My Music folder have the exact same problem suggest the trouble has nothing to do with the contents of the folders. Actually I don’t even use those 3 folders & have never added items to My Music & My Video.

You're right. The contents don't matter. I didn't make that point clear. I don't know what Windows uses for permissions on files and I don't know how the Mac OS converts them, if at all. I was wondering if it was possible that the permissions got messed up due to that conversion process. Thinking more clearly about it, and based on your comments about how you moved them, I don't think it should or did create some hybrid permission.

“Test” is a 2nd Admin account I created (but don’t use) based on advice to have a 2nd Admin account available for troubleshooting purposes.

I do not understand how I am not the owner of these 3 folder. You say the Terminal info indicates that “Test” is the owner. I logged in as Test & in the Document folder (Test’s Documents) there is absolutely NOTHING since I never use that account & never added anything to Documents. But, (Still logged in as Test) I navigated to Iconoclast folders & there I found my Document folder with all my stuff. I went to each of the locked folders & using Get Info I easily unlocked then all! For some reason all my folders must be owned by “test” rather than by Me (Iconoclast) --As you stated---I wonder if this happened when I had the HD replaced & upgraded to Snow Leopard & then manually dragged all my folders (including Documents) back over from my Time Machine Backup.

I want my folders back under my ownership. What if I delete the “Test” account? WIll the folders automatically be reassigned to my ownership?

No, you will just have unknown as an owner. The posix permissions are tied to the uid, not the name itself.
The initial user has uid 501, and the subsequent ones are incremental. So, for example, if iconoclast was user 502 on the old machine, but on the new machine test is 502 and iconoclast is 501, when you copied files over, it looked at the permissions and set them as they were. I think a way around that would be to go into Get Info on the disk you are copying from and check the box to ignore permissions on that volume. Then, when you copy, you become the owner.

Iconoclast will be the only account on the Mac except for Guest & those folders owned by Test are all in the Iconoclast Home folder anyway. And what if I disable File sharing? I doubt I really need it. I was attempting to make it easier to move files to & from WIndows Partition.

Just turning off file sharing will not fix the ACLs. In Sharing, you probably only shared one folder. So that is the only one it will delete the ACLs from. The rest of the files that had the permissions 'applied to all' will stay the same. Again, it wasn't the File Sharing setup that did it. It was applying the permissions to all contents and subfolders.

If not, I think I will try the Terminal commands you suggest soon.

Let me clarify what is happening with these

sudo chmod -RN ~

sudo is substitute user do and elevates the privileges of you to super user status to run the command that follows.
chmod is change mode. -R means to run recursively through all subfolders. -N removes the ACLs from the file and the ~ means your user folder.

sudo chown -R `id -un` ~

chown is change owner. -R is the same, and the `id -un` tells it to get the username of the current uid and pass it back to the chown command. The backticks tell it to run the command inside and return the result. In this case it is the id command where u is user id and n says return the name instead of the user id.

But, I don’t understand why I would then need to reset my Admin password.

You won't. That is just where the button is to reset the ACLs to default. You never actually reset the password.

Thanks!

Reply

Answer 10

growler62000 Author

Level 2

195 points

Feb 23, 2010 2:52 AM in response to Barney-15E

Barney,

I finally got around to implementing your Terminal commands & I think it worked! You said:

To get rid of the ACLs, run this command. It is best to copy and paste:
sudo chmod -RN ~
sudo will ask for your admin password. It will not echo anything to the screen while you type.

'To set you as the owner, run this command:
sudo chown -R `id -un` ~
Finally, boot off the Snow Leopard DVD, and after selecting a language, choose "Reset Password" Then select your account and click the "Reset" button in the "Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs" section. Restart and you should have your home folder correct.'

After running the 1st two commands I got this:

Last login: Tue Feb 23 02:06:36 on ttys000
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ sudo chmod -RN ~
Password:
sudo chown -R `id -un` ~
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ sudo chown -R `id -un` ~
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chown: /Users/Iconoclast/Publisher 1997/Setup/MSCREATE.DIR: Operation not permitted
chown: /Users/Iconoclast/Quicken backup/Quicken (E)/BACKUP/DC82#8E8CPY_20071222.QDF: Operation not permitted
chown: /Users/Iconoclast/Windows backup 9-8-2009/WillMaker Plus 2008/End User License Agreement.rtf: Operation not permitted
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I thought these were all Windows files either from the BootCamp partition (unlikely) or from a backup on my Mac HD partition. So, I pressed onwards & followed:

"Finally, boot off the Snow Leopard DVD, and after selecting a language, choose "Reset Password" Then select your account and click the "Reset" button in the "Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs" section. Restart and you should have your home folder correct."

So, I Inserted SL DVD & restart holding down C key & got language choice-selected English. Then DID NOT hit next or Continue to install OS but, on menu bar --Utilities/Reset Password. Had blank spaces for my pw so I typed in my old one & hit save & finally hit Reset Home Directory Permissions & ACLs”

The Reset button I clicked changed to a “working” or “running” Button & a spinning sprocket appeared above it. This is how it remained for over 30 minutes! I think it was hanging so I closed the window & restarted from my HD.

Test Terminal again as b4 with:
ls -ale /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/HELP
ls -ale /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My\ Music
ls -ale /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/My\ Videos

& I think it worked! “Iconoclast” (Me) now replaces “Test!”

So, thank you!

I was worried about all those Operation Not Permitted" notices. And the hanging "running" or "working" on the final step had me thinking it was not going to work.

I will paste just a few lines of the retest after I changed ownership back to Iconoclast (Me):

Last login: Tue Feb 23 03:17:28 on console
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ ls -ale /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/HELP
total 4232
drwx---rwx 71 Iconoclast staff 2414 Nov 8 2007 .
drwx------@ 275 Iconoclast staff 9350 Feb 23 02:19 ..
0: group:everyone deny delete
drwx---rwx 3 Iconoclast staff 102 Nov 8 2007 Ad-Aware
-rwx--xrwx 1 Iconoclast staff 27136 Dec 29 2004 AutoComplete settings.doc
-rwx--xrwx 1 Iconoclast staff 24064 Jun 29 2006 Clear a program from systray at bootup.doc
drwx---rwx 10 Iconoclast staff 340 Nov 8 2007 DVD player
drwx---rwx 17 Iconoclast staff 578 Nov 8 2007 Delltalk posts
-rwx--xrwx 1 Iconoclast staff 78 Mar 17 2002 Desktop.ini
-rwx--xrwx 1 Iconoclast staff 29696 Jan 9 2004 Disk Cleanup, Scandisk And Defrag In Windows XP.doc
-rwx--xrwx 1 Iconoclast staff 114688 Sep 9 2006 Empty Prefetch.doc
-rwx--xrwx 1 Iconoclast staff 31232 Feb 19 2002 FILE tr. Q to Dell supp.doc
drwx---rwx 5 Iconoclast staff 170 Jan 23 23:05 Firefox
-rwx--xrwx 1 Iconoclast staff 27648 Aug 7 2002 Grolier QT installation.doc

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Answer 11

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,858 points

Feb 24, 2010 6:03 PM in response to growler62000

There are some sticky bits that can be sent that prevent changes. You may have to unset that bit first with sudo, and then changing them. But if everything is working, then I guess those messages don't matter. If you type

ls -lO

and drag one of the files to the terminal window, and hit return. It will list the file flags.

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Answer 12

growler62000 Author

Level 2

195 points

Feb 24, 2010 8:02 PM in response to Barney-15E

I did it. Dragged a pages document file over & Terminal shows:

Last login: Tue Feb 23 03:23:15 on ttys000
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$ ls -lO /Users/Iconoclast/Documents/News/Canadian\ official\ has\ USA\ heart\ surgery.pages
total 64
drwxr-xr-x 3 Iconoclast staff - 102 Feb 23 23:29 Contents
drwxr-xr-x 3 Iconoclast staff - 102 Feb 23 23:29 QuickLook
-rw-r--r-- 1 Iconoclast staff - 30691 Feb 23 23:29 index.xml.gz
Iconoclasts-iMac:~ Iconoclast$

BTW, what is “index.xml.gz?” That has caused some trouble trying to copy or move folders between my HD & an external backup drive recently. I was using Automator & it said operation could not be completed since index.xml.gz was in use.

Thanks!

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Answer 13

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,858 points

Feb 24, 2010 8:19 PM in response to growler62000

Did you use the letter O or a zero? It should be the letter O.

I'm not sure what that is, except it is a compressed (gzip) xml file. It looks like the pages document is actually a folder with those items inside of it. I suppose the contents folder holds the 'contents.'

Also, is that a file that "operation was not permitted" or just a file that failed because the file was in use? Why it is in use, I don't know, but it is a different problem and I wouldn't expect to find any flags set on that file.

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Answer 14

growler62000 Author

Level 2

195 points

Feb 25, 2010 12:03 AM in response to Barney-15E

I C/P from your reply so if you typed letter O it was letter O.
I just selected a recent file to do the test you suggested & it has nothing to do with any operation not permitted files.

Typically I get that error in Automator when attempting to copy my entire 10GB documents folder. I set Automator to find & copy several folders that I want to back up on a XHD.

(Yes, I already use Time Machine & also have Clones but I want a 3rd backup of just important files not entire system)

I discovered if I have Automator make these copies & put them in a different folder on my Mac HD it works just fine but, when I do what I actually want & have Automator copy them to the XHD I get errors & it fails. So, as a workaround I’ve been copying via Automator to a Temp Backup folder on my Mac HD & when Automator is finished I manually Command-Drag the huge folder one by one to the XHD & it takes forever to move.

Actually I had been hoping the slowness & even the failure of the Automator action might have been due to ownership problems but, now that those are fixed with your great advice & all files/folders are owned again by Iconoclast, the problem persists. I do expect a slower transfer due to USB 2 compared to transfers I make using Firewire 800 or transfers from one spot to another on my same HD but this is extremely slow. Well over 30 minutes for 10GB. Also doing it manually is a pain but Automator comes up with errors when copying the Documents folder to an XHD (But, not when copying within my own HD.)

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Answer 15

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,858 points

Feb 25, 2010 4:56 AM in response to growler62000

Is there any reason you need file permissions on the external? Is it a time machine volume?
You can Get Info on an external drive and check a box to ignore permissions on the drive. It could be that some of the locations on that drive are blocking Automator from copying to that location. If the OS doesn't need to care about the file permissions on that drive, you can turn it off and see what happens.

I'll have to look into it, but I would suspect that Automator does not have the same permissions that you do. I would think it would run with your privileges, but maybe not.

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