Files in other user account are restricted to admin account...

Question

Files in other user account are restricted to admin account...

Hi everyone.

2 weeks ago, I've created a user account for my wife on my Mac Mini for iphone syncing purposes. My account is admin and hers is standard. Everything works great except restricted access to files.

Besides regular Time Machine backups, I manually back up the iTunes, Address Book and iCal files on an external drive.

Files on my user "side" are no problem, but when I try to access the files from Macintosh HD/Users/Wife path, I get all these folders with a small red "No Entry" sign just like the traffic one.

I click "Get Info" and see that only my wife's user acc has "Read and Write", everyone is marked as "No access" and I'm not even there.
Funny thing is, system asks for my permission to do the changes, but I'm not listed.

What I do so far is to click "Get Info", go to permissions, unlock (a window pops up with my name as admin and I have to enter my main pass), add my name to the permitted users list, change it from "Read Only" to "Read & Write".

Repeating these steps for each folder is becoming a bore. Can anyone give me a shortcut where I can have access to all files on any user account?

Mac Mini, Mac OS X (10.5.8), iphone4

Posted on Feb 23, 2011 4:31 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Feb 23, 2011 9:25 AM in response to aoitsukinosuke

You cannot access another user's files unless you log into that user's account even though you have admin status. This is a normal security precaution. Manually changing permissions on another user's account is a security no-no. If you need to access those files for some reason then the proper way is to log into the user's account (although, technically, that means knowing their password which is also a security no-no.)

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Answer 2

Feb 23, 2011 11:37 AM in response to Kappy

Kappy,
I think you've misunderstood my point. My wife has her own netbook and uses my PC at home just for syncing her phone. Reason is I'm the able one with computing related issues and she is distant to Mac.

I created the user account for her, but she is the one who insisted on not having admin privileges as she wanted to avoid changing sth irreversibly by mistake.

I log into her account for backup, but spend a lot of time moving media files from my locations to her itunes folders. That's when I need access to those restricted folders.

Security in our household is not an issue as my trustworthiness is a BIG yes-yes.

Now, apart from your guidance on moral issues and appropriate log-in 101, thank you for your clarification.

Regards

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Feb 23, 2011 12:14 PM in response to aoitsukinosuke

You can share the iTunes and iPhoto libraries by turning that option on in each of the applications. That way each of you can access your respective libraries. I don't know if this will help you, but it may.

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Answer 4

Király

Level 6

10,017 points

Feb 23, 2011 6:54 PM in response to aoitsukinosuke

To move files from Account A to Account B:

1) Log in as A.
2) Find the files you want to move, and put them in /Users/A/Public.
3) Log in as B.
4) Navigate with Finder to /Users/A/Public. Drag the files to the Desktop to make new copies of them; they will have correct permissions for B. File them away in the appropriate places in B's home folder.
5) Log back in as A, and delete the files from /Users/A/Shared.

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Answer 5

Feb 23, 2011 8:03 PM in response to Király

Kiraly - That does it.
Thank you very much.

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Answer 6

May 26, 2011 11:08 AM in response to aoitsukinosuke

An easier way is...

1. Get Info on the folder.

2. Expand Permissions at the bottom.

3. Click the lock and enter your password.

4. Press the + button in the bottom left-hand corner of the Get Info window.

5. Select your username and press Select.

6. Click on the gear menu and then click Apply to enclosed items.

7. Ignore the warning and press OK.

8. TADA!!!! The administrator account now has access to the folder and all files in it.

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Answer 7

JaxKat

Level 1

0 points

Aug 10, 2015 8:33 AM in response to nintendofan345

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to say your response saved my life! Well, not literally, but figuratively. I had a faulty HD and could no longer access my user account. My data was backed up, but restricted to that user and hence inaccessible. I had searched the web up and down for months - finally, your simple permissions change did the trick! All files could be accessed and transferred to a new HD. THANK YOU!

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Answer 8

Jan 8, 2016 7:04 AM in response to nintendofan345

I am with JaxKat on this. This really helped me in recovering old files from other accounts on the work computer I inherited. The other accounts had a lot of files from previous and ongoing research studies that I wanted to make sure were all in one place (my account) and easily accessible in the future. Thank you!

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Answer 9

mguimei

Level 1

4 points

Apr 7, 2016 10:58 AM in response to Király

Thank you!

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Answer 10

mguimei

Level 1

4 points

Apr 7, 2016 10:56 AM in response to nintendofan345

Thank you! Your recommendation was extremely helpful.

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Answer 11

LindaKr

Level 1

25 points

Jul 27, 2016 2:03 AM in response to aoitsukinosuke

Hi there, when I try it says I have no access 😟

My laptop was backed up to toshiba HD and my laptop crashed. I had previously copied content to apple desktop but since I had several backups on my old laptop. Now when I plugin the HD, folders are locked.

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Answer 12

Sep 24, 2016 2:12 PM in response to nintendofan345

Excellent! Helped me clean out an old external hard drive that had some backups of old users. Five years later, and your post is still helping people!

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