I cannot write to USB drives (read only permissions)

Hi again, beermont !

One can try to find some of the settings/permissions here : About This Mac --> System Report --> Software --> Managed Client.

If what you seek is not listed there, then I fear having access to the Active Directory / Open Directory server is the only thing that would help.

Sadly, that also ends my involvement as I cannot ethically help you delve further into manupulating controls imposed on a managed machine on a business network.

As always, best of luck !

I recently discovered I cannot write to external USB drives.

I tried an old USB drive which I previously wrote files to, same problem, 'read only' permissions.

This seems to be a permissions issue at my OS level not a problem with the drives. Any advice?

Try resetting NVRAM/PRAM http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

Hi, beermont !

If you wouldn't mind, please tell us :

1. Exactly who owns this Mac, and
2. Exactly how you log into said Mac, and who manages it.

Good luck !

(Edited to bring clarity in the first question)

Ummmmm... Johnb-one... you may want to go back and look at beermont's posting. Specifically note where he is being prohibited from changing permissions. Swing of the ol' cluebat :

Second swing of the ol' cluebat : A managed Mac will not necessarily have those permissions accessible or listed. Hence beermont mentioning it seemed to be an OS-level problem.

Third swing of the ol' cluebat : That's why I asked him how he logged into the Mac, and who manages it.

Any other ideas?

It's easy enough to fix, but it can be baffling for most of us. plug in the USB drive in question, do a "get info" on it (Apple/command Key and I held down together. ). In the box (window) that comes up, towards the bottom of it, you'll see a list of users, and read/write permissions assigned to each one, and yes, that includes you. You may have to click on the padlock on the bottom to unlock it and change it (you'll probably need your admin/login name and password, don't worry though, once you do this you won't have to do it for a long time). after unlocking it, click on the list of users, on the left side, and then hold down the mouse, maybe drag a bit, and it'll show you the permissions. so, change the permissions on that drive to read and write, save it, lock it up again, and you should be good to go. You don't need Disk Utility unless you're either trying to reformat the drive or erase it entirely, or put a partition on it. Just a simple "Get info" on it should be enough

good luck

John B