Permissions Issues.....

[AdamNC]

Ok I am really frustrated. On my brand new 2020 MPB 13 in with i5 and 16 gigs I am having all kinds of issues that are multiplying.. Mostly permissions and read / write. I can not go to File and Open File get any Applications to work or open. I am having to do this on my phone because I can’t add photos to the post because I can’t open Photos App from anywhere and attach them. The open file feature works fine on Chrome though. I can access all options in Chrome only. None of the stock Apple Apps from File and Open File. There was 3 user accounts on the computer I spent hours setting up for my wife and my son. Then mine. I was the administrator for the computer. It will not let change any permissions for sharing and the read write settings. It says I don’t have the credentials to do so. At one point I got a warning my drive is read only. I am the administrator for Pete’s sake. I deleted the other accounts. Then I restarted and it gave me a notification that I had to update my apps. It won’t let me. Says they are refunded. No it says I don’t have permission to update. I am really upset. The computer was perfect until last night. I have only had it 4 days. Only apps I have added are Affinity Photo, 365, and Chrome. I am on the verge of saying F this and blowing it away and start fresh. Any idea why I am slowly losing control of what I can and can not do? I am not sure if I really screwed up a setting or if there is some kind of corruption in the drive. Thanks.

Example I can not select Photos apps from File and Open File for affinity photo. Or in Safari nothing will open they stay greyed out. Same in Applications, Recents, Utilities ect. See attachments. First photo if I open file the results that come up are all greyed out in the next 2 photos. Does it every app except chrome.

 

[Taz Mangus]

If you think there is a permissions issue, try this:

1. Boot into recovery mode (restart while pressing Command-R key).
2. Utilities->Terminal
3. In the terminal windows enter: diskutil resetUserPermissions / 'id -u'
4. Shutdown
5. Reset SMC
6. Reset PRAM

Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

The SMC is responsible for managing power on your Mac. Resetting it can resolve certain uncommon issues related to power or thermal management.

support.apple.com

Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

If one or more settings stored in NVRAM don't work as expected on an Intel-based Mac, resetting NVRAM might help.

support.apple.com

 

[AdamNC]

Something is very wrong 3 copies of my HD are popping up. I am wiping it it out and going to return it to Best Buy. It also is spinning the fans up randomly.

 

[allan.nyholm]

@AdamNC If you are to wipe it remember to then disable Find my Mac or you'll forever see this computer in your "Find" section on iCloud and be able to wipe it, even for a new user. Happened to me a while back, where I had to text the person with my old Mac mini and tell him what Apple Support told me should happen. I couldn't have it on me that I could see and possibly remote wipe the computer.

I think there was more to be tried before you wipe it.

The new folder permissions repair is changed to on Catalina be just

repairHomePermissions

still in Terminal on the Recovery partition.

Source:
https://eclecticlight.co/2020/02/18/repairing-permissions-in-your-home-folder-has-changed/

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203538

Also, remember that with macOS Catalina you can't access the System folder without a Terminal command. Just a FYI in case that ever comes up.

sudo mount -uw / ;killall Finder

Relaunches the Finder - so don't do any copying or moving of files at the same time.

If you indeed are the administrator of the current account then you can of course access the /Applications and Home folder for your user.. and there shouldn't be the issues that you're mentioning.. Instead of taking images with your phone you can use CMD+Shift+3 or CMD+Shift+4 or even CMD+Shift+5. You can then drag the images into the thread here by dragging them over the designated area for images.

Good luck..

Btw... I don't know if permissions repair from the old Apple Support document helps, but in that you could CMD+i on your Home folder house-icon and unlock with your admin code and choose to apply the permissions for all enclosed items and in that way repair what might be wrong.

 

[chabig]

You don’t have a permissions problem. This is the second thread you’ve started for the same problem. But there is no problem. Applications can only open documents that they support. Everything else is grayed out. You are asking Safari, a web browser, to open an application. It can’t do that.

The Photos App Store your photos in a private database, not accessible from the Finder. You don’t drill down through the Photos app to find your photos. Either the app you’re using includes a media browser, or else you must actually open the Photos app and export the photos you want to use elsewhere. I find the easiest way to do that is to simply drag them to the desktop. Then I delete them when I’m don’t with them.

 

[AdamNC]

It was more complex than that. I already have returned it. Oh well.

 

[chrfr]

It was more complex than that. I already have returned it. Oh well.

Your screen captures really looked like you're just not quite understanding how to use a Mac. To open an application, you'd go to Finder and then, among other ways, go to the Applications folder and double click on the application you want to use. You were trying to open applications through Safari, and that's just not the right way to do it, nor should you be opening apps from within other apps. That's not how macOS or even Windows works. There's nothing specific about a problem with the new computer that you saw there.

 

[chabig]

Adam, if you change your mind, consider buying from an Apple Store. They will help reacquaint you with macOS better than Best Buy.

 

[AdamNC]

I know how to use a Mac. I guess I chose the wrong photos and you didn’t read my posts clearly. No matter what Finder, File, Recents ect. I could not access anything. Everything was greyed out. No matter what path I took. Even before I wiped it clean LaunchPad was greyed. After I wiped it it would not reinstall. Sorry if I am testy. The last several months have been hell on me. And this was the last straw. Everything I have tried to do to to get a little joy has turned into a nightmare. I am done.