OS X provided Mac users with a new modern operating system with the old foundation of UNIX. One of the benefits of UNIX is it’s multi-user capablity. To manage the users of the system, UNIX uses file ownership and permissions. Ownership and permissions is a large subject unto itself, so we will not address the details here. Look for a tutorial in the future or go to osxfaq.com for additional reading.
Occasionally in OS X some key file ownership and permissions get changed for whatever reason by applications and more frequently, program installers. When ownership and permissions get changed, things just don’t work as they should. The symptoms might be programs quitting unexpectedly, preferences not being remembered, programs not launching, etc. This is where Repair Disk Permissions utility comes in. This utility, which is part of the Apple Disk Utility program, corrects the ownership and permissions according to Apple specifications. Frequently, this corrects many system and program errors. Repair Disk Permissions is a OS X specific utility and UNIX does not have such issues. Hopefully, this a concern and procedure that will go away in the future. For A step by step tutorial read below
To repair permissions, open the Disk Utility program found in the Applications>Utility folder on your hard drive root level directory. At the top of the Disk Utility window is a row of tabs. Click on the First Aid tab. On the left is a list of the disk and volumes mounted on your computer system. In the example below, I have two mounted volumes – one named SHHD and another named Media.You will need to click on your boot volume to select it. Only boot volumes can have permissions repaired.
If the buttons labeled “Verify Disk Permissions” and “Repair Disk Permissions” are grayed and not selectable, you have not selected the boot volume or you are not a system administrator. To allow system administrator approval to repair permissions, click on the padlock button on the lower left and enter a system administrators name and password.
Once you have selected a boot volume and have system administrator privileges, you can go ahead and click on the Repair Disk Permissions button. You will see the process begin with messages in the center window and a progress bar below it. This process may take a while so it may be a good time to go for coffee.
Once done, you can quit the Disk Utility program. You do not have to reboot the system for the changes to be effective. It is recommended that you repair your disk permissions after installing new programs or once every month or so of normal usage.
April 22, 2009
holy crap it worked like magic
May 28, 2009
holy crap is right. system was running like a freakin’ pc even though it is only over a year old. especailly after installing a copy of CS2. I googled “mac runs slowly” came across this article, followed directions, and now my beloved mac runs better than new. unbelievable. why have I not come across this advise in macworld or maclife? one of them even had an entire issue dedicated to solutions for poor performance, but this was not in there. I should cancel my subscription and send the $20 check to the author!
December 20, 2009
THANK YOU. I was almost descending into madness and considering switching back to PCs after dealing with hanging when switching between apps. And simple stuff like mail and surfing. This did the trick and now I can regain my sanity. I’ve owned my mac for about 4 years and have NEVER repaired the permissions, so it took about 10 minutes.
January 3, 2010
Thank you, that’s really helpful …. felt so frustrated after 1 month use of Mac … now back to normal …
January 19, 2010
Thank you. I owned my mac pro for a year and never new about this.
February 3, 2010
I. love. you. Results were INSTANTANIOUS and I can finally use photoshop again! I’m new to Macs and thought that i just got a bad compu but this fixed EVERYTHING.
March 10, 2010
Okay, as far as advice goes, this is right up there with “don’t eat the yellow snow”! You’ve restored my faith in Mac’s. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
April 2, 2010
Thanks, I’ve used this on my girlfriends mac and it has worked well, still not as fast as my Sony Vaio (with almost identical spec) running Vista and Ubuntu (yes, Vista the bloated pile of ****). After two years of use we’re still far from convinced about Mac’s supposed superiority, I haven’t seen any evidence! Also there’s just so many more utilities for PC’s to help remove clutter and speed up the machine, Mac need to catch up badly!!
May 18, 2010
Thank You!
June 18, 2010
I am so very grateful for the help. I was about to kiss my pistol trying to figure out what was going on with the pinwheel popping up just about every time I moved the mouse. Running like a champ now!
July 5, 2010
It’s a miracle!
July 27, 2010
Just tried this on a 10 yr old ibook that was dragging badly – totally given it a new lease of life. Awesome
August 31, 2010
I just completed this task and it took 35 minutes. I decided to go ahead and reboot and now everything is faster. I hope this continues. Thanks you for this instruction. I may be premature but I think my computer is back like it was when I bought it 2 years ago.
Thank You
Sam Slay