'Repair Permissions' doesn't repair

TimK wrote:

Running latest version of Lion on a 2010 macbook pro.

I ran Repair Permissions from Disk Utility, and it reported that it repaired hundreds of incorrect permissions.

I ran it again a week later, and it again reported that it repaired hundreds of incorrect permissions. So I ran it again straight away, and it again reported that those same permissions were not as they should be. So it seems that it is not repairing anything at all, despite what it says.

So why is it doing this, and what can I do about it? As far as I can tell, there is nothing obviously wrong with the way the computer is running. But there is obviously something wrong with the Disk utility app, and I'm concerned about whether it will work properly when I really need it to.

I'd be less concerned if it just said that it couldn't repair these permissions, but it is saying it repaired them when it didn't.

Alwats been a bit of a question mark over what is reported in Permissions repair in DU or even Applejack. As long as it says Permissions Repaired' then they have been repaired, regardless of all the lines of text you see. You can search for further explainations on it in these forums.

Personally I have found that if I do have cause to repair permissions, which is rarely, then 10.7.3 shows almost nothing compared to what Snow Leopard shows, but rest assured it means in no way that you are having or will be having any systemwide problems.

Good Luck

Pete

TimK wrote:

Thank you, but....

If indeed they have been repaired if DU says they have been repaired, why is DU then saying, five minutes later, that the same permissions are wrong again? Something is definitely wrong somewhere. And this not just a few permissions. It is hundreds of them. A long, list that goes on and on, again and again.

What you're seeing are most likely notifications, not errors. If they are notifications, you have nothing to worry about.

Take a look through here and see if your messages are similar:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448

Pete

Why are you repairing permissions? What's the underlying problem?

Repairing permissions, though immensely popular, is a complete waste of time unless you have a specific indication of a permission error involving system files, which is rare, or a boot failure. It always spews bogus warnings that mean absolutely nothing.

If you're unable to reset the permissions of a user home directory, it may be because there are locked files in that directory. Enter the following shell command as the user in question:

chflags -R nouchg nouappnd ~

My mistake. That should be

chflags -R nouchg,nouappnd ~