How can I fix my Mac's broken Disk Permissions?

September 16, 2010 4:51 PM

Mac OS 10.6.4 - my Disk Permissions are broken. How did this happen, and what do I need to do to fix it?

I ran Software Update last night (Safari, iWeb, Brother Printer software were all upgraded), and after a fresh reboot, I ran Disk Utility.

Here is where my troubles began. First, it took absolutely forever to run. When it was finished, here is what it said:


Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”
Permissions differ on "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Deploy.bundle/Contents/Resources/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Java/deploy.jar", should be lrwxr-xr-x , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Repaired "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Deploy.bundle/Contents/Resources/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Java/deploy.jar".
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Admin.framework/Versions/A/Resources/readconfig" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Admin.framework/Versions/A/Resources/writeconfig" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Permissions differ on "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.6.0/Resources/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Java/deploy.jar", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Repaired "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.6.0/Resources/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Java/deploy.jar".
Permissions differ on "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.6.0/Resources/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Java/libdeploy.jnilib", should be -rwxr-xr-x , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Repaired "System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.6.0/Resources/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Java/libdeploy.jnilib".
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAgent" has been modified and will not be repaired.

Permissions repair complete


What's wrong with my Mac, and how can I fix it?

posted by invisible ink to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Response by poster: I should note, that I rarely if ever run Disk Utility. If I only use my Mac for internet browsing & listening to music, should I be repairing disk permissions on a more regular basis?
posted by invisible ink at 4:53 PM on September 16, 2010

Best answer: According to Apple, you can safely ignore them.
posted by holgate at 5:05 PM on September 16, 2010

Yeah, it's sort of a tricky thing - as I understand it, all Disk Utility does is go through the package receipts that .pkg installers use to see what files' permissions were set to when the file was installed, but it doesn't have any information about what subsequent (installer/user/etc - legitimate) activity has done to the files. It's _usually_ harmless to let it automatically fix stuff, but it's more of a placebo than anything, as whatever tweaked the file away from the defined permissions will probably just adjust them again. Every now and then it will fix something that has happened due to an unexpected power outage, but usually it's just a tug of war between Disk Utility and the application doing what it wants to do.
posted by Kyol at 9:44 PM on September 16, 2010