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I am the owner and only user of a new Mac mini M1. I have updated to Monterey. I am now trying to load some apps that I had on my older iMac. Doing a default install with one app (Luminar 3), the install stops and says "You do not have sufficient permission to the specified folder."


I am the administrator. I go to that folder, go to "Get Info", unlock it (since I'm the admin), but my name isn't listed. When I go to add my name it says that "The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have the necessary permission." When I try to change the Privileges on "Everyone" it also says "The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have the necessary permission." The top 4 folders on the hard drive are Applications, Library, System and Users. Under Sharing & Permissions 2 folders have system, admin and everyone listed while 2 folders have system, wheel and everyone listed.


I cannot change anything on any folder, even after logging in and unlocking the lock at bottom.


Can someone help me please. I purchase the new M1 to have a better experience editing photos and now I can't even load the software.


Mike

Posted on Dec 8, 2021 2:32 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 9, 2021 12:28 PM

paxroman wrote:


But my concern is still that as an Admin I do not have permission to access all the folders.

Mike

Apple has protected the Operating System (OS), itself, from any unauthorized modification, even to the point of making the OS Volume a signed, read-only disk image.


Hence, you, even as an “administrator”, do not have any sort of write privileges on the OS Volume.


This is what was causing the “no permission” issues with trying to make any changes to “System>Application”.

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9 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 9, 2021 12:28 PM in response to paxroman

paxroman wrote:


But my concern is still that as an Admin I do not have permission to access all the folders.

Mike

Apple has protected the Operating System (OS), itself, from any unauthorized modification, even to the point of making the OS Volume a signed, read-only disk image.


Hence, you, even as an “administrator”, do not have any sort of write privileges on the OS Volume.


This is what was causing the “no permission” issues with trying to make any changes to “System>Application”.

Dec 8, 2021 3:37 PM in response to paxroman

Skylum discontinued support for Luminar 3 over a year ago. Even at that time it was not supported on Big Sur. I doubt its ability to run under Monterey.


Skylum's official position is that Luminar 3 is legacy and does not get compatibility updates. They did offer a free Luminar 4 license to all Luminar 3 owners on Macs with Big Sur or Monterey who experienced crashes during export.  Give them a holler about your problem with installation, perhaps they will extend the offer to you.


This is another example of how Skylum quickly abandons support for its products. I fell for the initial releases of Luminar and Creative Kit only to have Skylum totally abandon both of them within a year. They have continued the practice with every successive release of Luminar. I haven't (and won't) purchase any further apps from them for this reason.

Dec 8, 2021 4:23 PM in response to MartinR

Further, I realize that my earlier post did not address your permissions question. I suspect the problem is not actually a permissions problem, but has something to do with the Luminar 3 installer and Luminar 3 itself.


Note also that the later release of Luminar 4 only works on M1 Macs with Rosetta 2. And the even later release of Luminar AI is the only version that actually has native M1 support. That does not bode well for Luminar 3 working on either an M1 Mac or on Monterey.


If you really want to stick with Luminar then I suggest the solution is to upgrade to Luminar AI and every future version Skylum releases. But at $50-$80 per Luminar release per year, the Photoshop/Lightroom solution is only slightly more and is a much better all-around solution with better support.

Dec 8, 2021 5:10 PM in response to paxroman

I recall similar error messages when I tried to delete a file owned by System that was moved to the Recovered Items folder. The only way I found to delete the file was to boot another installed version of macOS. I could then change the file ownership and ultimately delete the file.


I'm using an old version of Lightroom (V6.14) with Monterey. It kind of works, but can't be re-installed since its installer is a 32-bit application. This version of Lightroom may even run on a M1 Mac but it's probably time to find an alternative.


- Pie Lover

Dec 9, 2021 12:13 PM in response to BlueberryLover

Martin,

Appreciate your input. I too had decided not to continue purchasing Luminar. Luminar 3 was trying to install in the System>Applications, which I was denied permissions. I then late last night decided to see about Luminar 2018 (predecessor to Luminar 3). It installed easily but installed in the Applications folder. So I then decided to install Luminar 3 into the Applications foxderinstead of the default location of System>Applications. It also easily installed. I haven't yet tried to work with either version, other than open the app to make sure it opened correctly. I will try calling Skylum to see if they will give me a free upgrade to Luminar 4. Thanks for that suggestion.


But my concern is still that as an Admin I do not have permission to access all the folders.


Mike

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