Drive permissions to no access for everyone

I'm still trying to make sense of what you are suggesting and I'm guessing it must be far more confusing for the OP, Ange101.

For the sake of Ange101, who is what really matters in this thread (or anyone else who may happen upon it looking for a solution to the same issue), can you please give a clear step-by-step of exactly the procedure you are proposing, what problem it will solve and how it will solve that problem.

You may also want to explain how this procedure will be preferable to an Archive and Install.

Message was edited by: WZZZ

I see your point. I should have said FireWire booting (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2699) and not Target Disk Mode.

Here is an outline which can probably be extended and improved:

1. Purchase an external DVD drive
2. Obtain an empty external hard disk drive - See notes
3. Use the install CD/DVD to partition the external disk into 2 volumes
4. Install OS X onto one volume
5. Boot from this volume
6. Use Carbon Copy Cloner to backup the whole of the Mac to the other volume
7. Use the Install CD/DVD to install OS X onto the Mac

Notes:

1. We do not know which Mac it is and hence don't know if it has USB 2 and/or FireWire.
2. It is not always easy to boot all Macs from an external USB drive. This needs to be investigated before an external disk drive is purchased. The drive should be mains powered. Do not try and use a Western Digital drive for this.
3. A more predictable approach, if the Mac has FireWire, is to use a FireWire external drive.

6. Use Carbon Copy Cloner to backup the whole of the Mac to the other volume

This would be fine if it weren't for the fact that the OS on the Mac's starup volume is completely borked, hosed, kaput! OK, then you do a fresh install with Leopard on to the Mac's startup disk, then what? What's the point of the backup? You clone over the borked, hosed backup? If so, what do you have? You have reproduced the same borked, hosed OS. Or, you just keep the backup to extract what's useable from it. But an A&I should preserve all that third-party and user stuff.

I repeat: since there's now an external optical drive (or another Mac in FWTDM) why not just go directly to an A&I? This is what an Archive and Install is meant to do. It is why Apple bothered to make this possible.

Even if it would work, what you are proposing is like trying to leave a house by first piling up all the furniture in front of the door and then climbing out the window. Why not just open the door and walk out?

The OS was working until the OP changed permissions. A permissions repair may correct this. A&I destroys a lot of information. If it were mine I would do it as I said, particularly as there is little to be gained by doing anything else.

I have seen too many posts here resulting from A&I advice - the risk of transferring damaged files is high and, all to often, much work produces another OS with some of the quirks of the old one. I always do a clean install but it can be useful to have the full old OS to collect items from later.

Permissions repair will NOT fix this. The damage is much too severe. I've seen this before. And your procedure is much too complicated and convoluted for the skills of the average user, who you must take into account.

Most A&Is are completely safe and successful. It won't repoduce any of the quirks of the old one. It will install brand new system files, which is where the probem now lies.

The Previous System folder will be there to extract anything missing.

If an A&I doesn't for some reason work out, then he does a clean install.

Message was edited by: WZZZ

There is no evidence here of severe damage. A one bit error could do this - hardly severe damage but finding it may not be easy.

I doubt that this is helping the OP so I have unsubscribed from this thread and will not see any reply from you.

Neville Hillyer wrote:

There is no evidence here of severe damage. A one bit error could do this - hardly severe damage but finding it may not be easy.

I doubt that this is helping the OP so I have unsubscribed from this thread and will not see any reply from you.

Speaks for itself.

During this long tangle of a thread I don't remember if I gave you any directions for doing an Archive and Install. It's really quite straightforward. Just be sure to select Preserve Users and Network settings. See this Apple article which lays it out for you. Post back with any questions.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1710

If you're in the US or Canada, a good place to find an exernal optical drive reasonably priced is OWC. If you aren't in the US or Canada, they will ship elsewhere, but it may be less expensive to find something at home.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/optical-drives/

Once you get this sorted out, get an external backup on it, either a bootable clone or Time Machine, ASAP. You shouldn't ever be without one. And after you do the A&I, update from the version on the DVD to 10.5.8, using the Combo Update. Also check software update for anything else needed.

http://support.apple.com/downloads/Mac_OS_X_10_5_8_Combo_Update

Hi Guys, new to the forum but not to Macs. Can't believe I actually selected and clicked OK to "everyone" "no access". Yepp locked out of my iMac. What was I thinking ??????

However, thanks to BD Aqua and Neil, and . . .

See this User Tip by Niel: I accidentally set a disk's permissions to No Access ...

If the disk in question is your Mac OS X startup disk and your computer stops starting up at the blue screen, restart with the Command and S keys held down, and enter the following commands:

mount -uw /

chown root /

chmod 1775 /

exit

worked and I'm up and running again.

Thank you I hate going to the Genius Bar on a Saturday !!!!!

Hello Everyone,

I did the steps you suggested and it worked, i have now set everyone back to read only. However, when i open up the desktop after login i am unable to open any application or access any file if i look in finder and see nothing in Mac HD. Any help is much appreciated.

I used the 'simpler' command chain as opposed to the longer chain as shown below. I was able to enter the back up screen and repaired permissions in there as well.

"mount -uw /

chown root /

chmod 1775 /

exit"

Thanks.

🙂

Which partition(s) of your HHD did you set No Access to? For example, my 1TB hard disk has the following 3 volumes in my 3.6Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac:

1. (BSD Name: disk0s1 with Capacity: 209.7 MB),

2. (BSD Name: disk0s2 with Capacity: 200 GB), and

3. (BSD Name: disk0s3 with Capacity: 799.73 GB).

Does the problem of not booting applies to just disk0s2 which is shown as the "Startup Disk" in my iMac? I wonder if you would experience the same problem of not booting if you set No Access permission to disk0s3 which i named it as "Macintosh HD 2" to distinguish it from Macintosh HD? (Macintosh HD being disk0s2)