Leopard - any point in RP, repairing permissions?

[roshi]

What is the word lately - is there any point in repairing permissions after installing programs, or letting Software Update do an update?

Or is this now unnecessary Voodoo? (no offense intended toward Voodoo, which I am sure knows what it is doing when it sacrifices chickens.)

[roshi]

I just found this old post from Daring Fireball:

http://daringfireball.net/2006/04/repair_permissions

"We are told to repair permissions before and after each update by whom? Certainly not by Apple.

To be clear, perfectly clear: Apple does not recommend that you do this. All you need to do before applying a system update is follow the steps in the accompanying release notes, and nowhere therein has it ever been mentioned that you should run Disk Utility’s Repair Permissions feature before or after installing the update, let alone doing so before and after.

[guitarist]

Leopard is still Unix, and yes, you benefit from this simple maintenance habit.

Most of us don't pretend to understand what Repair Permissions does, but there's no reason to take it for granted as pointless or unnecessary. Compared to some practices, it's not mystical. It's just a computer. It's easy as pie to do, and only takes about 30 seconds, a few times a month. And it beats the heck out of all the annoying crap we had to constantly do to keep OS 9 happy. With OS X, Repairing Permissions is literally all the maintenance we're asked to do. And if we forget or fail to do it, it's not a huge deal, but doing it occasionally is still a good thing. So be a good Apple, continue doing that little deed, and your mac will be happy.

Letting Software Update automatically do updates, opinions here vary.

My own practice (after seeing the rare mishap from fellow users) is to install the small stuff pretty much without giving it a second thought, but Actual major OS Updates (the kind with . #s) it's better to download, then install. Depending on your internet connection, some unexpected interruption, a hiccup, or inattention, can foul up a System Update install. It's only those substantial System Updates, or anything requiring a reboot, that I'm more cautious with.

Otherwise, click yes to accept the download, and multitask all you want, the download will proceed and install itself, and you can hardly break anything.

I have friends who remember to "Repair Permissions" maybe three times a year. Then they forget where Disk Utility is. (in the Utilities Folder) And their macs seem to run as good as mine. It's hard to mess up.

[MacMagus]

It's may be apocryphal, but there does seem to be a correlation between those persons' computers that have trouble after an OS update and those people who don't repair permissions before an OS update.

I recommend that you use combo updaters when available rather than using the software update utility, repair permissions and safe-boot before installing any OS update. I do so because when people follow that routine, they seem to have fewer problems after updating.

Is it a false perception? Perhaps. But it's a small burden for a potentially large payoff -- a trouble-free update. Both repairing permissions and safe-booting are generally beneficial anyway, so what's the argument against doing them?

[Plumbking]

apocryphal

1. of doubtful authorship or authenticity.
2. Ecclesiastical.
a. (initial capital letter) of or pertaining to the Apocrypha.
b. of doubtful sanction; uncanonical.
3. false; spurious: He told an apocryphal story about the sword, but the truth was later revealed.


I agree

[guitarist]

I went without putting oil in my car for two years.

Hey, I was busy.

[Kramerica]

I suspect Apple would make the installer automatically repair permissions before installing if it were helpful or necessary.

[Article Accelerator]

I agree with MacMagus: Permissions can get out of whack, even in Leopard. Bad third-party installers are prime culprits. An RP isn't harmful and takes only a short time to do so doing an RP prior to a significant update is a good idea.