The Effect of Corrupt Disk Permissions on Mac OS X

Updated October 6, 2023
By

Mac OS X uses a permission system to manage user access to files, folders, and directories. File deletion or creation can be an annoying experience if these file or folder permissions become corrupt. As a Mac user, you may often run into problems, such as inability to open a file, empty the Trash, or move a file to the Trash. A number of things may account for this unusual behavior of your Mac. The Trash folder you see in your home directory is specific to your user account. It does not correspond to other accounts on your Mac. If you are unable to Trash a file or empty the Trash folder on your Mac, then it could mean several things. Let us discuss some of the possibilities.

The File is Locked

If the files are locked, you might face issues while deleting them. If you are running Mac OS X versions 10.0 to 10.0.4, you may unlock a file using Show Info. In Mac OS X 10.1 and later, locked files can be deleted from the Trash bin by using the Shift-Option key combination.

If the issues persist when you delete a file on you Mac, you should boot from your OS X Install disc and attempt to repair your disk. To do so, follow the given series of steps:

  • Boot from your Mac OS X Install Disc. To do so, you need to hold down the ‘C’ key at startup and release this key when the Installer window is displayed.
  • Select ‘Utilities’, and then click ‘Disk Utility’.
  • On the Disk Utility window, select the ‘First Aid’ tab.
  • In the left pane of this window, select your hard drive to display a list of all volumes on this drive.
  • Choose the OS X volume and click ‘Repair’ button in the right pane to verify your disk for corruption and fix any problems found.

If you are confronted with more problems, you may go for repairing your disk permissions using the OS X’s Disk Utility. Disk Utility’s ‘Repair Disk Permissions’ feature enables you to check and repair permissions on System files and folders, i.e. Apple-originated objects. You can do this while being booted from the same volume as Disk Utility included with Mac OS X 10.4 or later supports ‘Live Verification’. The permissions of certain files that can be fixed during normal usage are usually ignored by Disk Utility.

Mac OS corrupt disk

Advanced Options for Unlocking Files

To unlock all the locked files stored in your Trash, follow the given series of steps:

  • Navigate to the ‘/Applications/Utilities’ folder to open the Terminal.
  • Type the following at the Terminal. (Note: You need to type one space after ‘nouchg’)

sudo chflags -R nouchg

Do not quit the Terminal.

  • Open Trash in the Dock.
  • Select all the contents of your Trash by pressing ‘Command-A’ key combination.
  • Drag the contents to the Terminal.
  • Press Return
  • Enter your password and press return.

Options for Unlocking Files

The problems with the directory of your OS X startup disk can also be resolved using a safe boot or fsck which is a command line utility that will be used to repair your Mac disk and verify your hard drive.

Author Bio:- The author is a Mac OS X expert doing research on Mac Data Recovery. Maria keep herself updated by reading Apple News & Journals, Mac Forums, and Tuaw Updates.

Leave your comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Posts
Search Here
Explore Laptops on DHgate