User profile for user: minaya90K
minaya90K Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Critical file permission issue on new MacBook Pro M4 - Urgent help needed

Hello community,


I'm experiencing a persistent file permission issue that has survived even a complete hardware change. I have just purchased a new MacBook Pro M4, and have migrated my user and data from my old MacBook Pro.


Detailed problem:


  • Every time I try to move files migrated from my previous Mac, the system constantly asks for the user password, requesting permission from the use.
  • Files get copied instead of moved when clicking on them and trying to move them.
  • This problem affects ALL my personal files
  • The issue began on my previous Mac after a reset and subsequent data migration
  • I thought it was a problem with the old hardware, but it persists on my new MacBook Pro M4.


Solution attempts (unsuccessful):


  • 4 hours at the Genius Bar with 3 different technicians- no one could find a solution
  • Migration of files via Target Disk Mode
  • Migration of files via migration assistant
  • Migration of files via downloaded from iCloud
  • Permission repair via Terminal (chmod 755)
  • Directory ownership change (chown -R)


Equipment:

  • Current Mac: MacBook Pro M4 with macOS Sequoia
  • Previous Mac: MacBook Pro with macOS Catalina


Has anyone faced something similar or knows a solution? The Genius Bar technicians couldn't resolve it and sent me home without a fix. It's super frustrating that after spending that outrageous amount of money in a new laptop, I still get this issue.


Thank you for any help you can provide.

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.2

Posted on Feb 26, 2025 11:49 PM

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User profile for user: lkshean
lkshean
User level: Level 2
165 points

Posted on Feb 27, 2025 3:50 AM

Sound like file permission issue, and very surprised chmod/chown does not work?


If you have a spare external drive large enough to hold all your files, maybe can try to format it to exFAT, copy all your personal files that has the permission problem, then copy back to another location on your internal drive and check if the problem persist? APFS could retain certain file attributes when they get moved around but once moved to exFAT, some file attributes might get removed especially those relating to permission and ownership. Another possible way is to setup a share folder on Windows machine, copy the files over to Windows, then move the files back perhaps using a USB drive. Hopefully by moving to NTFS it would delete those security attributes in case the exFAT method does not work.

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User profile for user: lkshean
lkshean
User level: Level 2
165 points

Feb 27, 2025 3:50 AM in response to minaya90K

Sound like file permission issue, and very surprised chmod/chown does not work?


If you have a spare external drive large enough to hold all your files, maybe can try to format it to exFAT, copy all your personal files that has the permission problem, then copy back to another location on your internal drive and check if the problem persist? APFS could retain certain file attributes when they get moved around but once moved to exFAT, some file attributes might get removed especially those relating to permission and ownership. Another possible way is to setup a share folder on Windows machine, copy the files over to Windows, then move the files back perhaps using a USB drive. Hopefully by moving to NTFS it would delete those security attributes in case the exFAT method does not work.

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Critical file permission issue on new MacBook Pro M4 - Urgent help needed

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