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Repairing Home Folder permissions

I've been told that that's 'a special function on the install disc in earlier versions of Mac OS X within the Utilities > Reset Password function. Repair Permissions does not affect Home Folders: only the "Reset Home Folder Permissions and ACLs" function in Reset Password can fix Home folder permissions issues.'
(What do anterior cruciate ligaments have to do with this?!)

Beyond the fact that I don't want to reset a password, how does one repair home folder permissions in Lion — which I can only guess might have something to do with the problems I've been experiencing (not the least of which is that the Help Viewer is following its own agenda – and not mine – again).

As I almost never have to repair home folder permissions and only repair the other permissions when there are indications of possible problems, I had not thought of how to repair home folder permissions in Lion. I did not have any success finding instructions for doing that through Google or even directly on the Apple Support site, but a quick check revealed the latest release of Cocktail does have a function for repairing user permissions along with the regular systems permissions. To my surprise neither of my other two favorite housekeeping utilities OnyX and TinkerTool System have that ability yet.

I suspect Apple will twig to that over site at some point and add user permission repair to Disk Utility.

Time to launch Terminal.app apparently:

resetpassword

"Additional Repair Permissions tool hidden away in Lion OS"

[i'd be of more help usually, but i don't own any Lion machines]

Edit: Interestingly enough, running that CLI command apparently launches a GUI app.

Did I read somewhere that repairing home folder permissions is functionality that can be found in Lion's "Restore" partition, perhaps under the "Reset Password" drop-down?

Yup... I did! See reset home folder permissions: Apple Support Communities.

But from within the Lion "Recovery" partition only. (Edit: As per both our links.)

whatever...


[doesn't google work on dial-up anymore?]

Considering the importance of the distinction, isn't that kinda blase?


Aaargh!!!

I wouldn't know... as i said, i don't have Lion. All i did was provide a link, and you said it agreed with your'n. So... distinction between what?



Well, that's what it boils down to. How do you think i found what i found? All i did was google on the "Repairing Home Folder permissions" phrase in post #1 and add the word "Lion".

Your post suggested that home-folder permission repair could be accomplished via /Apps/Utils/Terminal, but such is apparently not the case; according to everything I've read, the trick can be turned only after first booting into a Lion "Recovery" partition and launching Terminal therein.

You misunderstood my "Aaargh;" It was a reference to the fact that I've not only directed grelber to Google (and site:apple.com) on several occasions, I've even once linked to a search results page to try to get the message across... It was an expression of exasperation!

idunno... but if that's true, then Apple has overdone it again. There has never been any real need (other than restrictions imposed by them) to boot from any other OS or disk (or disc) in order to repair permissions on a user's home folder. [perhaps it's some security precaution that they don't simply include the ability right in Disk Utility... but that's dumb. If they want security, just have Disk Utility require the user to enter an admin password before it runs that particular task).

As i mentioned before (somewhere), the shell script i wrote back in the MFI forum days accomplished the same task in 30 seconds. [whereas Leopard required booting from a dvd, which took 5 minutes to get past the installer stage.]

It's pretty easy to get home perms loosened up in Terminal (without my script), but the only trick is restoring those 30-something ACLs which are scattered about. [we don't "need" those either, but they're nice to have.]


I'll wager the same is true in Lion (i.e., my script would work and/or there is a simpler way which doesn't require recovery partition booting), but i can't say that authoritatively until i get Lion.

And further, if security is Apple's concern, why hide the "Repair Home Permissions" feature while making the "Change Password" feature not only obvious, but directly in its path, i.e. in the spotlight?

Thanks to all for suggestions, tentative and otherwise.

I can only reiterate:

Fiddling around with all those exotic things (eg, terminal something, scripts, booting into various places) are all things that I neither understand nor am willing to experiment with.

My creating something (eg, a script) to make the machine do something will never happen. I never did it with my old iMac and I'm not doing it with this one.

I would need to be walked through comprehensible (to me) step by comprehensible step to try anything on this machine.
I didn't even dare {read: was too scared) turn it on when I got it; I had to have Apple support walk me through it on the phone, and even then I needed multiple steps to help me understand what I was doing and why.
(That's why I usually wind up talking with senior Apple advisors, because front-line staff can't dumb it down sufficiently for me.)

How can I make my insecurity about this machine and its OS any clearer and more palpable?

And going to an Apple Store would be an 8-hour drive (each way) for me; so that won't be happening either.

So um, which is it? You're not willing, or you want a walk-thru?

As far as "step by comprehensible step" goes, the pages to which i linked contain such steps. Was there a step there about which you have a precise question?



Pretty lousy attitude, considering the incredible (useful) power of AppleScript and Bash. Besides, learning stuff can actually be fun, once one sheds their self-induced fear(s).

Anyway, the instructions for resetting home folder permissions don't include anything about creating any script. Artie and i were just discussing other solutions for the issue. So i suggest you skip my most recent post, and just focus on [the links in] my first one.

Be that as it may, I ain't gonna learn it. I've got enough tsuris to make a tsimmes out of this. [Get out your Yiddish dictionary.]
As I've said before, I'm blissful in my ignorance.
And now I'm going to go do the Sunday NYT crossword puzzle — which is usually solvable (unlike the stuff – I'm tempted to say dreck – in Lion).

ACL stands for Access control list. This is a special implementation of file permissions found in Mac OS X and other OSes. The only thing (ex)cruciating about them is the pain they can inflict to users that run afoul of them...