Login Items for network users?

Question

Login Items for network users?

When I log in to my computer at work, which is bound to our Active Directory and I use my network LAN ID and password, I automatically get an SMB share point (not my network home folder) mounted. I am unable to un-mount or disconnect this server. I can, in fact, disconnect my automatically mounted network home folder. I would really like to get rid of this server, but I can't seem to figure out where my network user's login items are stored. If I click on the "Login Items" of my user's account in the Account System Preferences, the System Preferences freeze and you can only force-quit it. This has been the case for the entire year we've been binding the Macs to the Active Directory (Mac OS X 10.4.2 through 10.4.6). My user's local home folder does not seem to have any kind of "startup items" folder anywhere. If I log in to another computer, the same server does not mount, so I'm certain it's a local setting. Our network users do not appear in the Netinfo database, so I can't edit anything there. I'm not even sure how/why this started happening to begin with. Since I can't access my own accounts "Startup Items" from the System Preferences, I'm not sure how it got in there. (It is possible, however, if you put a network server in the Dock to then select "Open at login" from the Dock icon's contextual menu. But, I sure didn't go to all that trouble.) Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. Right now I'm running Mac OS X 10.4.6 with all the recent updates except for the QuickTime 7.1 and the most recent security update on a dual 2.0GHz G5.

-Doug

1.8GHz G4 Cube 1.5GB RAM, 320GB HD Super Drive / Black 2.0GHz MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.6), 1.4GHz Mac mini 1GB RAM, 80GB HD / AirPort Express / EyeTV 200 / 40GB iPod photo

Posted on May 23, 2006 10:13 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Vipir

Level 3

745 points

May 23, 2006 10:24 AM in response to Douglas McLaughlin

What if you make another login account on the Mac and login using that account.
Does the (SMS) script try running with the new account?
(mounting the server volume)

Reply

Answer 2

May 23, 2006 10:34 AM in response to Vipir

I'm actually one of the Mac administrators and I can log in as the local administrator just fine. Other users who log in to my computer do not get the same server mounted. It's only my network account. I suppose I could try creating a new local account, but it would startup with the same preferences used by new network users. And they haven't seen the same trouble.

-Doug

Reply

Answer 3

May 23, 2006 10:49 AM in response to Douglas McLaughlin

Doug

Don't know much about SMB and Active Directory, but …

If I click on the "Login Items" of my user's account in the Account System Preferences, the System Preferences freeze and you can only force-quit it.

I would be concerned to determine why this is happening. Maybe look at the log files using Console?

Open the Console application from /Applications/Utilities. It will default to showing the "console.log" and possibly the "system.log". Use the File menu if necessary to get both these logs open, and use the Broom to Clear both windows.

Now click on "Login Items" and see what appears in either of these windows. It may be you'll see nothing, but if you do, copy and paste it here.

Reply

Answer 4

Vipir

Level 3

745 points

May 23, 2006 10:56 AM in response to Douglas McLaughlin

Okay,
I'm just going to offer some ideas as I do not have many of those blue wisdom pellets vs. the number of posts. . .

Your account has more privledges than a typical user does.
The other users probably done't have access to the script the same way you do on the Mac. I've had some issues getting scripts set up and found the issue was setting the permissions on the scipt itself. You know, the "show package contents" permissions on those and the actual file.
Application and script had to be set because they were created on a different machine the permissions were user account specific.

Reply

Answer 5

May 23, 2006 2:32 PM in response to Michael Conniff

Thanks, Michael. I cleared both logs and the console.log filled up with this message about every half second until I force-quit the System Preferences:

2006-05-23 14:30:33.683 System Preferences[10605] * -[NSURL initFileURLWithPath:]: nil string parameter

-Doug

Reply

Answer 6

May 23, 2006 2:39 PM in response to Vipir

LOL @ "blue wisdom pellets"!

I have logged into this Windows server before, manually. It is in my "Connect to Server" list of "favorites". However, I'm concerned that I can't seem to figure out why it's mounting each time I log in or why I can't un-mount it. This issue is specific to my user, so I'm thinking it's something inside my own user's folder. I just can't seem to figure out where the login items are. Where is the list of login items for a standard user?

-Doug

Reply

Answer 7

May 23, 2006 3:59 PM in response to Douglas McLaughlin

Doug

NSURL initFileURLWithPath

This sounds very much like it is trying to connect to a network volume/folder, but I don't have anything like that in my setup, so can't look for that specific property.

Where is the list of login items for a standard user?

Well, since 10.4, a number of places. But a good place to start looking is in "~/Library/Preferences/loginwindow.plist" in the array of applications listed under the AutoLaunchedApplicationDirectory key. Note the plist name: not com.apple.loginwindow.plist. Look at it with the Property List Editor, since it is now in binary.

I'm assuming the plist in your Home/Library because you're the only user affected.

Reply

Answer 8

May 24, 2006 1:47 PM in response to Michael Conniff

This sounds very much like it is trying to connect to a network volume/folder...

Thanks! Yes, it could very well be trying to find the preferences/settings for opening my network home folder. This share point mounts each time I log in.

I opened the loginwindow.plist and that appears to be where normal Mac OS X login items are kept. The only two items in mine are the regular iTunesHelper.app and the Microsoft Database Daemon. Nothing out of the ordinary there. This oddball server is annoying, but I don't think there's anything it's doing that's harming anything. If I get inspired tomorrow (I don't have enough time today), I will re-name my local home folder, log out and log back in. I'm curious to see if if is, in fact, a preference saved somewhere in my home folder. I suppose, it's possible that it's saved somewhere else, but I've been having some issues with this computer lately and I'm not sure how to handle getting it back up and running at 100% after the QuickTime 7.1 and recent security update killed it two weeks ago...

-Doug

Reply

Answer 9

May 25, 2006 10:43 AM in response to Douglas McLaughlin

Doug

Just came across this folder: "/Users/michaelc/Library/Recent\ Servers" which has a few zero length files with a '@' icon (Get Info tells me they are "AFP Internet Location"s). Have you looked in there?

EDIT: these files have a zero length data fork, but the rsrc fork contains URL type stuff, along with binary data.

I still can't relate them to login items, though.

However, your " ~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist " contains an array "AppleRecentFolders" which might be pointing to your share. Try this:

defaults read -g AppleRecentFolders

(Or of course you can try to look at it in Property List Editor, but the initial dot makes it hidden).

Doug

Some more:

defaults read -g NSNavRecentPlaces

Reply

Answer 10

May 25, 2006 2:02 PM in response to Michael Conniff

Thanks, again! I looked in the "Recent Servers" folder and the sever that's mounting does not appear there (which is interesting). But, many of my other recent connections do appear. Out of interest, all of them are AFP connections. My one or two other recent SMB connections do not appear to be in that folder. And, there aren't as many in there as there are servers listed in the Apple menu's "Recent Items" submenu with the "Recent Servers".

My .GlobalPreferences.plist file does not contain an array called "AppleRecentFolders" but it does have "NSNavRecentPlaces". Those appear to all be recently touched folders on my computer, not network places or folders.

-Doug

Reply