Q: Can I permanently repair disk permissions?

The resultant text at the end says Permissions Repaired. That's it.

This is old:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

but the gist is the same. Ignore it.

Boot to recovery and then repair permissions.

Lou in Green Mountains wrote:

 

OK, then how do you know when there is a problem?

We don't anymore, we just fix the ones more than the 41 Apple changed.

If your having user account permission problems, see this as DU doesn't fix those.

Step by Step to fix your Mac

Lou in Green Mountains wrote:

 

OK, then how do you know when there is a problem? What kind of an error message do you get; "disk permissions NOT repaired?

 

Thanks.

You then follow cbs20 instructions.  If that doesn't work, you will need a stronger utility like DiskWarrior to correct.

Although it’s immensely popular, repairing permissions is a waste of time unless you have a specific indication of a permission error involving system files, which is rare, or a boot failure. It has traditionally spewed bogus warning messages that mean absolutely nothing. The built-in help for Disk Utility says:

If you see an alert or a message that says your permissions are set incorrectly, you can correct the disk’s permissions by clicking Repair Disk Permissions.

It’s justifiable, though rarely necessary, to repair permissions after running a third-party software installer, as defective installers have been known to damage the permissions of system files.