Terminal: Not authorized to run app... shell has an illegal value?!!

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Level 1

5 points

Terminal: Not authorized to run app... shell has an illegal value?!!

Terminal won't let me in and it's making my head scratch! When I try to open the app, it gives me a window that says:

"You are not authorized to run this application.
The administrator has set your shell to an illegal value."

What does this mean??? I'm the administrator of my computer (the only account on it). I've repaired permissions, etc. What did I do wrong 😝 ???

Thanks for any advice ^^ !

Quicksilver G4, Mac Mini G4, & more, Mac OS X (10.4.6), Quicksilver G4

Posted on Jun 3, 2006 6:16 PM

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Answer 1

baltwo

Level 9

62,386 points

Jun 3, 2006 6:57 PM in response to hanyou23

Click on Terminal.app to select it, CMD+I, and check the ownership and permissions. It should show that you have R&W. If so, then drag ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Terminal.plist file to the desktop, log out and back in, and try launching it again.

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Answer 2

Niel

Level 10

741,881 points

Jun 3, 2006 9:27 PM in response to hanyou23

Use the suggestions in this thread to fix your issue. This problem occurs either because the /private/etc/shells file is corrupt or there's a problem with the NetInfo database; if the shell doesn't exist on your hard disk, it may also cause this issue.

(12811)

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Answer 3

hanyou23 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 4, 2006 10:13 AM in response to Niel

Thanks for both of your replies ^^ ! I'm not the UNIX command-guy here, but this is what I see:

Getting info for Terminal:
I can Read & Write,
Owner is system, R&W
Group is admin, R&W
others, read only.

In the NetInfo Manager, /user/username/:
my uid is 501
shell is /dev/null
and gid is 80

Looking at the shell file (in TextEdit) under /private/etc/shells, the file has this inside:

# List of acceptable shells for chpass(1).
# Ftpd will not allow users to connect who are not using
# one of these shells.

/bin/bash
/bin/csh
/bin/ksh
/bin/sh
/bin/tcsh
/bin/zsh

Like I said, I'm not UNIX-saavy 😝 , so does any of the above seem off/wrong??? Thanks again in advance for your help ^^ !

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Answer 4

Niel

Level 10

741,881 points

Jun 4, 2006 12:02 PM in response to hanyou23

In the NetInfo Managr, click the padlock, type in your administrator password, and then change your account's shell to /bin/bash or another of those listed in the shells file; don't alter or delete any other accounts, groups, or properties. Your shell should not be /dev/null.

(12823)

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Answer 5

baltwo

Level 9

62,386 points

Jun 4, 2006 3:00 PM in response to hanyou23

I agree with Niel's answer. BTW, bash is Tiger's default shell. Since you're not a Unix guru, select that one.

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Answer 6

hanyou23 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 5, 2006 8:45 AM in response to hanyou23

Super, that fixed everything 😀 /___sbsstatic___/migration-images/migration-img-not-avail.png Thanks Niel & baltwo ^^

Just out of curiosity, what would have caused that to happen???

On a similar note... this should probably be in a new thread, but it also has to do with NetInfo Manager (I think... I like UNIX, I really do - I just don't know the language, sorry 😝 ). Console is giving me this error about NetInfo (earlier it was a different problem, but since the fix, has evolved into this):

Jun 5 10:10:15 Yoshikis-Pad kernel[0]: UniNEnet::monitorLinkStatus - Link is up at 100 Mbps - Full Duplex
Jun 5 10:10:20 Yoshikis-Pad launchd: Server 0 in bootstrap 1103 uid 0: "/usr/sbin/lookupd"[76]: exited abnormally: Hangup
Jun 5 10:10:20 Yoshikis-Pad configd[37]: posting notification com.apple.system.config.network_change
Jun 5 10:10:20 Yoshikis-Pad lookupd[469]: lookupd (version 369.5) starting - Mon Jun 5 10:10:20 2006
Jun 5 10:10:24 Yoshikis-Pad launchd: Server 0 in bootstrap 1103 uid 0: "/usr/sbin/lookupd"[469]: exited abnormally: Hangup
Jun 5 10:10:24 Yoshikis-Pad configd[37]: posting notification com.apple.system.config.network_change
Jun 5 10:10:24 Yoshikis-Pad lookupd[478]: lookupd (version 369.5) starting - Mon Jun 5 10:10:24 2006
Jun 5 10:10:29 Yoshikis-Pad lookupd[478]: NetInfo connection failed for server 127.0.0.1/local

Do I need to fix this :o ??? This is my last question, I promise ^_~ (I'm learning as I go). Thank you once again ^_^ /___sbsstatic___/migration-images/migration-img-not-avail.png

Quicksilver G4, Mac Mini G4, & more Mac OS X (10.4.6)

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Answer 7

hanyou23 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 5, 2006 8:47 AM in response to hanyou23

New similar question.

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Answer 8

Niel

Level 10

741,881 points

Jun 5, 2006 8:59 AM in response to hanyou23

If the computer is acting sluggish, go here, reset the NetInfo database, and then recreate your accounts in the same order they were initially created. Do not restore the backup copy. If the computer isn't sluggish, you don't need to fix it.

(12842)

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Answer 9

baltwo

Level 9

62,386 points

Jun 5, 2006 1:22 PM in response to hanyou23

Glad you fixed the original problem. For the new one, if Niel's solution doesn't fix things, reinstall the 10.4.6 COMBO update, repair permissions after restart, restart again, and see if that fixes the new problem.

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Answer 10

hanyou23 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 5, 2006 4:20 PM in response to Niel

I understand and have done everything in the instructions (of the link you gave about replacing the database)... up until the end where it says:

"You may use that pathname in Step 3 of Section. for example:

# chmod u+x ~/create restorenidb"

...so do I restart in single user mode holding down command-s, or in terminal... what do I do???

Thx ^^ !

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Answer 11

baltwo

Level 9

62,386 points

Jun 5, 2006 5:27 PM in response to hanyou23

Section IV says to launch the Terminal, which indicates a normal boot, and that, unless you've changed Terminal's defaults, you'll be in your home directory. There's nothing in Section IV that indicates booting into single-user mode. That's for the previous three sections.

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Answer 12

hanyou23 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 5, 2006 9:12 PM in response to baltwo

Sorry, I mean right after you paste the script, create the file name "createrestorenidb", & exit pico, the file shows up in the user folder. What do I do with that file? Is everything finished 'n' fixed or do I move it somewhere via chmod u+x or something (just after steps 1-9 of part IV)? I'm so sorry that I sound so stupid about this. I've been using Macs ever since the Mac Classic when I was a kid (the IIe before that), but unix commands and language operations still make my head swirl ~_~ . Ah, I should have been a Computer Scientist major instead of a Geographer in the first place ^_~ .....

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Answer 13

baltwo

Level 9

62,386 points

Jun 5, 2006 9:25 PM in response to hanyou23

Once you've made the backup file, which you've done, then you follow the steps in Section II, using the file you just created in Section IV.

As for learning Unix, http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/unixnut4/ is one of the better ones.

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Answer 14

Niel

Level 10

741,881 points

Jun 5, 2006 10:09 PM in response to hanyou23

If you don't have a specific reason to do so, you don't need to follow the instructions in parts 2 and 4. If you only have one or a few accounts and minimal or no customization of the NetInfo database, it's easier to reset the database in part 3 than to attempt recovering the backup in part 2.

(12870)

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Answer 15

hanyou23 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 6, 2006 5:26 PM in response to hanyou23

Allright, that problem persists, I think I'll do a reinstall of 10.2.6. Last last question mighty Mac gurus ^_~ :

Where in the system (console?) can I find which device is blocking the ATA bus???:

"Jun 6 15:09:53 Yoshikis-Pad kernel[0]: IOATAController device blocking bus.
Jun 6 15:10:33 Yoshikis-Pad kernel[0]: IOATAController device blocking bus.
Jun 6 15:41:04 Yoshikis-Pad ntpd[125]: time set -0.367271 s"

It keeps hanging every few hours. I have two busses, one with a Pioneer 106D DVD-RW (master) with a 120GB HD (slave), then the other with a 120GB HD (cable select) and a 160GB HD (cable select - no choice, the 160 has weird jumper settings). I wonder if a hard drives are causing the problems.

Peace~

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