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files lose permissions

Hello!

I'm having a weird issue since installed El Capitan.

It doesn't always happen, but now it seems to be happening more frequently.


My files will, for no reason, suddenly say "you can't open this file because you don't have the proper permissions" (paraphrased).

It happens to jpg, pdf, png, and seemingly every file type. Usually they are on my desktop. One time I was also trying to save a new file to the desktop with Pages, and it said the same thing. Restarting the Pages program didn't help. What I have to do is restart my computer and it seems to solve it, but I don't want to have to keep restarting. I'm not sure why this is happening, and when I look at the permissions, they are always fine. I am authorized even though the message says I'm not and it won't open/save the files.


Any help appreciated.

Thanks!

Kristin

Posted on Jan 12, 2016 10:42 PM

Reply
18 replies

Jan 14, 2016 9:59 AM in response to plinko

Howdy Kristin,

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.


I see from your post that you're trying to save files to your desktop, but you're getting an alert message saying that you don't have permissions. Thanks for letting us know that you've checked the permissions and confirmed that your user account has Read & Write permission. To get started, I'd like you to check and see if your Desktop folder is locked:


Lock a closed document: Select it, choose File > Get Info, then select Locked.

Lock an open document: Hold the pointer to the right of the document title, click the arrow, then select Locked.

To unlock a document, deselect Locked.

OS X El Capitan: Lock a document


If it's not locked, or the issue persists after locking, then I want you to apply your current permissions to your entire home folder. You can do this by following through the process outlined below:


  1. Use Software Update to install all updates until it reports "Your Software is Up To Date".
  2. Open the Get Info window for the account's Home folder:
    • In Finder, select Go > Home
    • In Finder, select File > Get Info
  3. If needed, click the disclosure triangle to expand the "Sharing & Permissions:" section of the Get Info window.
  4. If needed, click the padlock icon in the lower right corner of the Get Info window, then enter an admin user name and password and click OK.
  5. From the Action menu (User uploaded file) at the bottom of the Get Info window, choose "Apply to enclosed items…"
  6. Click OK in the confirmation sheet.
  7. Wait for the process to complete.


Don't be afraid if this takes more than 5-10 minutes, as the more files your computer has to sort through, the longer this process can take.


Take care.

Jan 20, 2016 1:48 AM in response to chroot

UPDATE: OH CRAP! It happened again!!! The below information is void I guess. Why is this happening?

I opened mail, then safari, wrote the post below, then changed the name of a file again, and checked and I got another error message! GAH!!!!

Same error message as below with a different file.


******************************************************************************** old info. below*******************

Okay, I *think* I might have figured out how to replicate the issue, so I did start it in safe mode. I *might* have figured out the issue, but I'm not certain. I'll report back in a while to let you know if the software that I disabled was the issue.


What I did to replicate the issue (at least as of now) was to keep changing the names of a few files I had on my desktop. It wouldn't always occur on the first change of name though. Anyway, I'm including a screenshot of the error message I kept getting. It is possible that it was a conflict with font software. I'll see if it happens again.


User uploaded file

Jan 20, 2016 2:32 AM in response to plinko

Okay, I'm *reasonably* certain this issue isn't happening in Safe Mode.


I restarted in regular mode. I only changed the file names of some of the files. I opened preview and text edit only long enough to see the files I was trying to open. I had to change the file names a number of times. Then I got the error message again. I checked the permissions using the terminal. I'll include a screenshot here. I have very few startup items and they were active when I started up in safe mode. I don't know what to do next. I'm stuck.


User uploaded file


User uploaded file

Jan 20, 2016 2:37 AM in response to plinko

If the issue is not happening in safe mode check the following to look for third party software:


/Library/LaunchAgents

/Library/LaunchDaemons

/Library/StartupItems

/Library/Extensions

~/Library/LaunchAgents


You can also try resetting ACL's


Boot computer to recovery (hold down command + r when the startup chime sounds)

Open Terminal from the Utilities menu

Enter "resetpassword" into terminal

Select your startup disk, user account, then click Reset


This will reset your entire home folders permissions.

Jan 20, 2016 3:07 AM in response to chroot

I tried deleting all of the files in


/Library/LaunchAgents

/Library/LaunchDaemons


I kept copies of the files. When the files were not in place it screwed up my programs AND the problem still occurred.

I'm too scared and tired to try anything else where I remove files.

I guess I'll have to go and take it in to get looked at.


I still cannot be sure it doesn't happen in Safe Mode.


Also, when I turned the showallfiles thing on to show the invisible files and did a kill all for the finder it seemed to reset and the problem went away for a minute. It seems to also reset every time I reboot. I don't know. I'm very frustrated. 😟

Jan 20, 2016 4:14 AM in response to plinko

Files located in /Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchDaemons, /Library/Extensions, /Library/StartupItems, and Login Items do not load when booting to safe mode. If an issue is not present in safe mode then this is a likely place to start. If you cannot confirm that the issue is not present in safe mode then it may not be caused by one of these items.

files lose permissions

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