Yes, I'm at it again.
Fresh from my "success" at migrating from a PPC to an Intel machine, I have updated from 10.5.6 to 10.5.8. All seemed to go well, except that when running Disk Utility to Repair Permissions again - I ran it before the update - I am confronted by an enormous number of differences/repairs. I know this is a bit vague, but is/has this been normal in Leopard. I have read somewhere that a lot of it is irrelevant anyway. As I say, I know I am being a bit vague and am prepared to list the lot if it will help.
Also, given that there are still quite a few other "items" which require updating, should I be repairing permissions after each indiviual update, or should I just run all updates together and reair permissions at the end.
I seem to remember that updating, upgrading, repairing permissions, etc. has been "a bone of contention" with varying approaches, but I would appreciate any advice/suggestions, as usual. Regards. Mike

Contrary to my practices in the past, I have stopped routinely repairing permissions when installing updates. I still, however, rebuild the directory with Disk Warrior beforehand, to insure that there is no directory damage. Whether or not it is necessary, I install only one update at a time but I only run DW before the first update if I am installing several of them sequentially.

I can't claim that all the above is necessary but I have not had any problems. Oh yes, I also make sure that I have complete backup before installing a major update (such as going from 10.5.7 to 10.5.8, for example).

if I remember correctly, the last couple of Leopard updates were notorious for excessive permissions repair. don't worry about them.

Here is the Apple Knowledge Base article with an extensive list of permission repairs that you can safely ignore.

Hi Jon
I was thinking of doing them individually and seeing that "things" were still working. I will dispense with the idea/thought of repeated permission repairs.
Oh yes, I have made a complete backup. Many thanks. Regards. Mike

Thanks for the re-assurance. Regards. Mike

Ummm. There are quite a lot, many of which I now recognise. Thanks for your interest. Regards. Mike

Mike if you have some extended reading time, you might want to look at this FIneTunedMac thread on the topic of permission repairs.

Hi Joe
Thanks, I have just scrolled down the thread and will, when I "have some extended reading time", take a good look at it. Regards. Mike

Should be a footnote somewhere there indicating:
<sigh>

This issue has been in Leopard from the beginning. There was a long discussion on MacFixit about it and people conceded that the database update was not working well, hence a slow and irrelevant permissions repair. As everybody said, you can safely ignore these. A really cheap but good upgrade of the OS, that is, Snow Leopard, took care of this problem.

We won't really know that for sure until a few more updates (OS, Security, QuickTime, iTunes, etc., etc.) roll out.

See you in 6 months... and if you're right, THEN i'll do the happy dance.

I think you are already doing it!

Thanks for your response. I intend getting - I hope - "A really cheap but good upgrade of the OS", but I think it will probably cause more incompatibilities than the move to Intel and Leopard. However, as it will be the even cheaper "Snow Leopard Up-to Date Program", I guess there's nothing to lose by giving it a try.
See, I'm getting a bit nonchalant about all this updating/upgrading stuff.
Actually, I'm not, as I will be taking it all gradually and steadily.
I'm still in a state of shock and exhaustion from my recent trials and tribulations, which would undoubtedly have been greater but for the help and support received from FTM.
Anyway, thanks again. Regards. Mike

Good luck! On a personal note, I have no major issues with SL. Rosetta works well and my old Acrobat 7 and Photoshop CS do their job just fine. The only problem was Office 2004 requiring a reinstall. Some report printer problems, but they all seem to be fixable unless a really archaic printer is dealt with. Our members may correct me, but in my opinion, SL caused much less trouble than Leopard. Understandably, because Leopard had a lot of new features, but SL is a thoughtful revamp of Leopard, with no major new additions, as per Apple.