Insecure Startup Item Disabled

I just upgraded my MacBook Pro from Tiger 10.4.11 to Snow Leopard 10.6.8. After the upgrade after each startup I receive the warning dialog box with the following message:


Insecure Startup Item disabled

"/LIbrary/StartupItems/FTDIReEnumerate" has not been started because it does not have the proper security settings.


I tried solving the problem by doing what is described at the following article http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3493 . However unsuccessfuly.


Do you know how to disable this dialog box from appearing each time my MacBook Pro is restared.


Thx in advance.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Sep 23, 2011 12:42 PM

Reply
15 replies

Sep 23, 2011 12:47 PM in response to AppleFaner

You need to uninstall the software that installed this extension as it is not compatible with Snow Leopard. As for the extensions it is located in the /System/Library/Extensions/ folder. Locate it then select it. CTRL- or RIGHT-click and select Move To Trash from the contextual menu. DO NOT try dragging it to the Trash. Enter your admin password when prompted.


Now, Repair the Hard Drive


Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then quit DU and return to the installer.


If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

Restart the computer and all should be fine. However, you do need to track down and remove the software that installed the extension. See:


Uninstalling Software: The Basics


Most OS X applications are completely self-contained "packages" that can be uninstalled by simply dragging the application to the Trash. Applications may create preference files that are stored in the /Home/Library/Preferences/ folder. Although they do nothing once you delete the associated application, they do take up some disk space. If you want you can look for them in the above location and delete them, too.


Some applications may install an uninstaller program that can be used to remove the application. In some cases the uninstaller may be part of the application's installer, and is invoked by clicking on a Customize button that will appear during the install process.


Some applications may install components in the /Home/Library/Applications Support/ folder. You can also check there to see if the application has created a folder. You can also delete the folder that's in the Applications Support folder. Again, they don't do anything but take up disk space once the application is trashed.


Some applications may install a startupitem or a Log In item. Startupitems are usually installed in the /Library/StartupItems/ folder and less often in the /Home/Library/StartupItems/ folder. Log In Items are set in the Accounts preferences. Open System Preferences, click on the Accounts icon, then click on the LogIn Items tab. Locate the item in the list for the application you want to remove and click on the "-" button to delete it from the list.


Some software use startup daemons or agents that are a new feature of the OS. Look for them in /Library/LaunchAgents/ and /Library/LaunchDaemons/ or in /Home/Library/LaunchAgents/.


If an application installs any other files the best way to track them down is to do a Finder search using the application name or the developer name as the search term. Unfortunately Spotlight will not look in certain folders by default. You can modify Spotlight's behavior or use a third-party search utility, Easy Find, instead. Download Easy Find at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.


Some applications install a receipt in the /Library/Receipts/ folder. Usually with the same name as the program or the developer. The item generally has a ".pkg" extension. Be sure you also delete this item as some programs use it to determine if it's already installed.


There are many utilities that can uninstall applications. Here is a selection:


AppZapper

Automaton

Hazel

CleanApp

Yank

SuperPop

Uninstaller

Spring Cleaning


Look for them at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.


For more information visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on removing software.

Sep 23, 2011 1:06 PM in response to AppleFaner

Insecure Startup Item disabled

"/LIbrary/StartupItems/FTDIReEnumerate" has not been started because it does not have the proper security settings.

If that error message is accurate, why are you looking in /System/Library/Extensions? Look in /Library/StartupItems.


[Overlapping replies -- and /Library/StartupItems is still used by some 3rd party sofware (Bresink software for example).]

Sep 23, 2011 1:05 PM in response to X423424X

Yea, got it. My mistake.


[Overlapping replies -- and /Library/StartupItems is still used by some 3rd party sofware.]


Yes, but they should not be using startup items per Apple's programming guidelines. Many third-party startup items will cause exactly the problem this OP is having. If they do work at all it's pure luck.

Sep 23, 2011 1:20 PM in response to AppleFaner

That finder find as I described it should work (note my instructions were to add the name for kind "Filename" and not enter it in the "Search for:" box). Maybe you would have to add a kind "File visibility" for "invisible items" but I doubt. it.


At any rate, accoring to your post you found it from terminal. So just delete it from there. You should know its pathname now. So just type:


sudo rm -rf pathname


[too many posts are happening too fast for this thread to stay linear]

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Insecure Startup Item Disabled

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