How to Repair Disk Permissions on a Mac
Common computer problems such as software crashes, lockups and power outages can cause issues with your Mac that you might not notice. You can easily repair the disk permissions on a Mac to help it run smoother and fix some performance issues.
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Instructions
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Repair Disc Permissions On A Mac
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1
Log in to your computer with the administrative account. Open the hard drive, go into the "Applications" folder and then open the "Utilities" folder. Now launch the Disc Utility application.
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2
Select your main hard drive. You'll probably see two options--one is the manufacturer's name of the disc and the other name is what you've called it. Choose the name of your hard drive.
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3
Click on "Verify Disc Permissions" and the computer will perform a diagnostic test. After a few minutes, the problems with disk permissions will be reported in the Disc Utility window. Click on "Repair Disc Permissions" to fix them.
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4
Insert your Mac OS X installation disk and restart your computer. Hold down the "C" key on your keyboard to boot from the disk rather than your computer's hard drive. Cancel the OS installation and open Disc Utility.
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5
Click on "Verify" to have Disc Utility check your computer's hardware. Notice that this option is only available when the program is run from the CD. You can only test the hardware of a computer that isn't running the program locally.
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Use Disc Utility to try and repair any hardware errors that it detects. Usually fixing the permissions will be enough to maintain your computer. If you still experience frequent lockups and crashes, then you should try repairing it with this method.
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Tips & Warnings
If you use your computer for high-performance work, such as software compiling or video editing, then you may want to check the permissions weekly. Most computer users will only need to fix permissions after noticing problems with applications or the operating system.
If the computer's performance does not improve after repairing permissions, then you'll have to troubleshoot for other issues. You may want to purchase more RAM for your computer to help speed it up.
Permissions repairs will not correct problems caused by applications that did not use Apple's installer. Try deleting all files associated with the application and then reinstalling it.
Avoid repairing the permissions after you've booted the computer from the OS X CD. It won't cause problems to your drive, but the version of "Disc Utility" on the CD may not be updated to address permission changes that are required by certain software updates.
