uselessnameless
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Q: serious help needed, google chrome wont work, access priviledge problems

I have a 2007 MacBook Pro. I recently wanted to change the settings so I wouldn't have to type my password to make changes to the system settings, so I typed this is the terminal :

 

sudo chown -R myname .

 

Then I put in my password. After that I changed an account called "wheel" that I never saw before from "read and write" to "read". In the middle of this I think I cancelled the operation. Shortly after the internet page I was on crashed. I tried to restart Google Chrome and it doesn't respond. I tried safari and it doesn't do a thing. My iTunes keeps giving me a message that says the library cannot be saved because I don't have sufficient access priviledges.

 

I'm seriously worried right now that I permanently broke my laptop and I am very concerned and help would be so appreciated rn.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Feb 10, 2015 11:50 AM

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uselessnameless

Q: serious help needed, google chrome wont work, access priviledge problems

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  • by Rick Blythin,

    Rick Blythin Rick Blythin Feb 10, 2015 12:49 PM in response to uselessnameless
    Level 4 (1,070 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 12:49 PM in response to uselessnameless

    The wheel is normal and special group for root/admin privileges. This thread may help explain: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2210858 . I would recommend double checking permissions or set wheel back to read/write. You may need to temporarily enable the OSX admin account, which is off by default (google can bring up steps how to activate). That should restore stability to the system.

  • by uselessnameless,

    uselessnameless uselessnameless Feb 10, 2015 1:09 PM in response to Rick Blythin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 1:09 PM in response to Rick Blythin

    I set wheel back to read & write. I also enabled root user. However nothing changed, I still cannot save or edit, and Chrome does not operate.

  • by Rick Blythin,

    Rick Blythin Rick Blythin Feb 10, 2015 1:19 PM in response to uselessnameless
    Level 4 (1,070 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 1:19 PM in response to uselessnameless

    Did you re-boot the computer after?, in many cases that's needed for changes to take effect.

  • by uselessnameless,

    uselessnameless uselessnameless Feb 10, 2015 1:33 PM in response to Rick Blythin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 1:33 PM in response to Rick Blythin

    I did a few minutes ago and my computer is still on a white screen with the apple logo and a loading wheel. This usually doesn't take that long and I hope it doesn't persist...

     

    Edit: it's been 20 minutes or so and it is still on this screen. I was able to use the computer before but it's now completely useless. I tried to press the power button and it didn't respond.

  • by Rick Blythin,

    Rick Blythin Rick Blythin Feb 10, 2015 1:43 PM in response to uselessnameless
    Level 4 (1,070 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 1:43 PM in response to uselessnameless

    Press and hold the power until it shuts off. Then see if it will go into verbose mode to provide output: Mac OS X: How to start up in single-user or verbose mode - Apple Support

  • by uselessnameless,

    uselessnameless uselessnameless Feb 10, 2015 1:53 PM in response to Rick Blythin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 1:53 PM in response to Rick Blythin

    it successfully went into verbose mode. White text appeared on the screen but that's it.

  • by Rick Blythin,

    Rick Blythin Rick Blythin Feb 10, 2015 2:02 PM in response to uselessnameless
    Level 4 (1,070 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 2:02 PM in response to uselessnameless

    What is the output of the text, it should help pin point why boot is hanging. Another possible thing to try is go into single user mode and reset wheel permissions via command line and reboot again.

  • by uselessnameless,

    uselessnameless uselessnameless Feb 10, 2015 2:13 PM in response to Rick Blythin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 2:13 PM in response to Rick Blythin

    ACPI: sleep states S3 S4 S5

    AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement: (built 21:36:10 Jun 3 2014) initialization complete

    pci (build 21:30:51 Jun 3 2014), flags 0x63008, pfm64 (36 cpu) 0xf80000000, 0x80000000

    [ PCI configuration begin ]

    close relocated to 0xf80030000

    [PCI configuration end, 7 bridges, devices 17 ]

    ARPT cannot assert wake from D3cold

    mcache: 2 CPU(s), 64 bytes CPU cache line size

     

    that's not everything but I'm typing this from a phone and its very difficult, is there a line of text in particular that may help or do you need the whole thing? Maybe the single user mode will help. How do I reset the wheel permissions?

  • by Rick Blythin,

    Rick Blythin Rick Blythin Feb 10, 2015 2:39 PM in response to uselessnameless
    Level 4 (1,070 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 2:39 PM in response to uselessnameless

    Typically the bottom few lines or any that mention a failure. From single mode you can try adding your user account with these lines (use root password if prompted):

     

    sudo dseditgroup -o edit -a usernametoadd -t user admin
    sudo dseditgroup -o edit -a usernametoadd -t user wheel

  • by uselessnameless,

    uselessnameless uselessnameless Feb 10, 2015 2:53 PM in response to Rick Blythin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 2:53 PM in response to Rick Blythin

    I tried what you suggested from user mode but nothing happened. The first time I tried it said it had a problem with the node. Also verbose mode says:

     

    BootCacheControl: Unable to open /var/db/BootCache. playlist: 2 No such file or directory

     

    Also there's a repeated line in the middle the says

     

    SAM Multimedia: READ or WRITE failed, SENSE_KEY = 0x05, ASC = 0x24, ASCQ = 0x00

  • by Rick Blythin,

    Rick Blythin Rick Blythin Feb 10, 2015 3:38 PM in response to uselessnameless
    Level 4 (1,070 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 3:38 PM in response to uselessnameless

    My understanding is the bootcache line is typical, the other I'd have to research. A few other things to try:

     

    Reset the PRAM: Hold down all of these keys: Command, Option, P, and R, and turn on the Mac. Keeping holding the keys down until you hear the Mac restart again.

     

    Boot to Single User Mode (command+S): At the prompt type; " fsck -fy " and press Return. Then wait, it may take several minutes. After five checks, you should get to one of two messages: “The volume [your Mac’s name] appears to be OK” or “FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED.”

     

    If you encounter the first message, type reboot and press Return. If you see the latter message, re-run the scan again. Ideally after a few attempts you’ll see the "appears to be OK” message, then type reboot and see if it gets to the login screen.

  • by uselessnameless,

    uselessnameless uselessnameless Feb 10, 2015 5:22 PM in response to Rick Blythin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 5:22 PM in response to Rick Blythin

    I did this until it said my volume was ok, but after rebooting I never got to the login screen

  • by Rick Blythin,

    Rick Blythin Rick Blythin Feb 10, 2015 8:21 PM in response to uselessnameless
    Level 4 (1,070 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 8:21 PM in response to uselessnameless

    Thinking about it, the issue may not be the wheel group. But use of chown -R, command, what that means is give your user account ownership. The R flag means ' recursive' ie: the operation will be performed for all files and directories (and all files and directories within any directory). Normally at the end of the command you specify a file/directory path.

     

    It would take research into the file structure to determine the original owner permissions depending what directory you were under at the time.  It maybe possible to restore them manually via single user mode, though it would likely be a tedious task.

     

    What version of OSX are you running ?. Do you have any recent backups and either installation dvds or a boot-able usb/media for the OS?. If so, an in-place reinstall to keep existing data would likely be the quickest fix.

  • by Rick Blythin,

    Rick Blythin Rick Blythin Feb 11, 2015 5:00 AM in response to uselessnameless
    Level 4 (1,070 points)
    Feb 11, 2015 5:00 AM in response to uselessnameless

    Just a few additional thoughts; if you would like to attempt some automated repairs:

     

    A) Repair disk permissions via single user mode. This link should help: http://osxdaily.com/2014/01/27/verify-disk-command-line-mac-os-x/

     

    B) Purchase a boot-able flash drive for Disk Warrior: http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior. Which is a more advanced tool than the built-in one.

     

    By using sudo, it makes (super user) changes instantly. The reason unix and similar oses prompt for a password is to safe guard potential harmful system changes. You can't remove the requirement entirely from needing one.

     

    Its tough to trouble shoot blind without being there, but hopefully the system can be restored with a backup or repairing permissions.

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