Q: Safari site saved usernames gone after reboot

Back up all data before proceeding.

This procedure will unlock all your user files (not system files) and reset their ownership, permissions, and access controls to the default. If you've intentionally set special values for those attributes on any of your files, they will be reverted. In that case, either stop here, or be prepared to recreate the settings if necessary. Do so only after verifying that those settings didn't cause the problem. If none of this is meaningful to you, you don't need to worry about it, but you do need to follow the instructions below.

Step 1

If you have more than one user, and the one in question is not an administrator, then go to Step 2.

Triple-click anywhere in the following line on this page to select it:

sudo find ~ $TMPDIR.. -exec chflags -h nouchg,nouappnd,noschg,nosappnd {} + -exec chown -h $UID {} + -exec chmod +rw {} + -exec chmod -h -N {} + -type d -exec chmod -h +x {} + 2>&-

Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.

You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.

The command may take several minutes to run, depending on how many files you have. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear, then quit Terminal.

Step 2 (optional)

Take this step only if you have trouble with Step 1, if you prefer not to take it, or if it doesn't solve the problem.

Start up in Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select

          Utilities ▹ Terminal

from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open. In that window, type this:

resetp

Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:

resetpassword

Press return. A Reset Password window will open. You’re not going to reset a password.

Select your startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if not already selected.

Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.

Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.

Select

           ▹ Restart

from the menu bar.

It's a common issue and the suggested solution may help. If you prefer not to take those steps, click the Support link at the top of this page or make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store.

Safari/Preferences/Advanced - enable the Develop menu, then go there and Empty Caches. Quit/reopen Safari and test. Then try Safari/History/Show History and delete all history items.  Quit/reopen Safari and test. You can also try try Safari/Clear History and Web Site Data. The down side is it clears all cookies.Doing this may cause some sites to no longer recognize your computer as one that has visited the web site. Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J.  When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder.  Select Library./Caches/com.apple.Safari/Caches.db and move it to the trash.

Safari Corruption       See post by Linc Davis

Back up all data before proceeding.

Launch the Keychain Access application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

Select the login keychain from the list on the left side of the Keychain Access window. If your default keychain has a different name, select that.

If the lock icon in the top left corner of the window shows that the keychain is locked, click to unlock it. You'll be prompted for the keychain password, which is the same as your login password, unless you've changed it.

Right-click or control-click the login entry in the list. From the menu that pops up, select

          Change Settings for Keychain "login"

In the sheet that opens, uncheck both boxes, if not already unchecked.

From the menu bar, select

          Keychain Access ▹ Preferences... ▹ First Aid

There are four checkboxes in the window that opens. Check all of them. if they're not already checked. Close the window.

Select

          Keychain Access ▹ Keychain First Aid

from the menu bar and repair the keychain. Quit Keychain Access.

If you use iCloud Keychain, open the iCloud preference pane and uncheck the Keychain box. You'll be prompted to delete the local iCloud keychain. Confirm. Then re-check the box. Follow one of the procedures described in this support article to set up iCloud Keychain on an additional device.

Back up all data before proceeding.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

~/Library/Safari

Right-click or control-click the line and select

          Services ▹ Open

from the contextual menu.* A folder named "Safari" should open. Quit Safari if it's running. One or more files in the open folder should have a name beginning in "History". Move those files, and only those, to the Desktop, leaving the window open. Relaunch the application and test. If there's no change, quit again and put the files you moved back where they were, overwriting the ones that may have been created in their place. Otherwise, delete the files you moved. The browser history will be empty. If possible, restore the deleted files from a backup that predates the problem.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination  command-C. In the Finder, select

          Go ▹ Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

Back up all data before proceeding.

Quit Safari if it’s running. Then select

           ▹ Force Quit…

from the menu bar. A small window will open with a list of running applications. Safari may appear in that list, even though you quit it. If so, select it and press return. Close the window.

Step 1

Hold down the option key and select

          Go ▹ Library

from the Finder menu bar. Delete the following items from the Library folder (some may not exist):

          Caches/com.apple.Safari

          Caches/com.apple.Safari.SearchHelper

          Caches/com.apple.SafariServices

          Caches/com.apple.WebKit.PluginProcess

          Caches/com.apple.WebProcess

          Caches/Metadata/Safari

          Preferences/com.apple.WebKit.PluginHost.plist

          Preferences/com.apple.WebKit.PluginProcess.plist

          Saved Application State/com.apple.Safari.savedState

Leave the Library folder open. Try Safari again. If the problem is solved, stop here. Close the Library folder. If you still have a problem, continue.

Step 2

Move the following items from the open Library folder to the Desktop (again, some may not exist):

          Cookies/Cookies.binarycookies

          Internet Plug-Ins

          Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.Safari.*.plist

          Preferences/com.apple.Safari.Extensions.plist

          Preferences/com.apple.Safari.LSSharedFileList.plist

          Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist

          Preferences/com.apple.WebFoundation.plist

          PubSub/Database

          Safari

          SyncedPreferences/com.apple.Safari.plist

Here, "*" stands for a long string of letters, numbers, and dashes.

Note 1: You are not moving the Safari application. You’re moving a folder named “Safari.”

Note 2: This step will remove your Safari extensions, if any, and their settings. If you choose to reinstall them, do so one at a time, testing each time to make sure you haven’t restored the problem.

Try again. Your settings and bookmarks will be lost. The default set of bookmarks will be restored. Delete them all.

If Safari is now working normally (apart from the lost settings), look inside the “Safari” folder on the Desktop for a file named “Bookmarks.plist”. Select

          File ▹ Import Bookmarks...

from the Safari menu bar. Import from that file. Recreate the rest of your Safari settings. You can then delete the items you moved to the Desktop.

If the issue is still not resolved, quit Safari again and put all the items you moved to the Desktop back where they were, overwriting the newer ones that may have been created in their place. You don’t need to replace the files you deleted in Step 1. Stop here and post again.

If you don’t like the results of the last step, you can undo it completely by quitting Safari and restoring the items you moved or deleted in that step from your backup, overwriting any that were created in their place.

I had this problem too and in my case I was finally able to resolve it by turning off the option to automatically open windows after restarting.

Once I restarted and had Safari retain my site logins I found I was able to restart with the auto open option turned back on without losing my logins.