How to Repair Disk Permissions in Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 and Snow Leopard 10.6

Snow Leopard is Mac's latest operation system, as of July 2011.

Common problems can arise in Mac OS X when key system files have their permissions modified by installers or applications. Repairing permissions in either Leopard or Snow Leopard fixes any accidental changes that may have occurred to the permissions of these files. It is a good housekeeping rule to run the "Repair Permissions" function in "Disk Utility" periodically to keep the Mac running smoothly.

Instructions

1. Start up from your normal Mac OS X boot volume.

2. Press "Shift+Command+U" from the Finder, then double-click the "Disk Utility" icon when the "Utilities" window opens.

3. Select the Mac hard drive icon in the left pane of the "Disk Utilities" window. Click the "First Aid" tab at the top of the right pane. Click the "Repair Disk Permissions" button at the bottom of the right pane. Mac OS X will read the permissions database, then begin repairing permissions. This could take several minutes.

4. Note the completed permissions that have been repaired in the list visible in the center window of "Disk Utility."

5. Quit "Disk Utility."

Tips & Warnings

• Disk Utility for Snow Leopard can only verify or repair permissions for Mac OS X 10.6.x disks. Use Leopard to verify or repair permissions for Mac OS X 10.5.

References

• Apple Support: About Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions Feature