Repair permissions question

[DP]

Just curious: when I RP (like I just did before I loaded 10.4.8) the pane always shows the hard drive description, e.g., 465GB Hitachi and indented below it the Macintosh HD icon. I notice that if i select one or the other the information at the bottom of the window is different. It seems to do the job regardless of which one I choose. So, why are there the two choices for the one HD displayed and why is the info displayed different?

[rexrzer]

The HD description is just that, the physical description, brand, model number, and it's always called "Disk" when you click on the "info" button. You can't Repair Permissions on the Disk if you select it, at least not on my Tiger 10.4.8 ystem...you can verify or repair the HD but not RP.

The 2nd choice is for the Volume, and it's called "Volume" if you hit the "info" button, with its description, size, name etc there. You RP on the Volume, not the Disk. That's why there's a window there in the 1st place: to identify your Disks vs. their Volumes.B)-

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[DP]

I don't know, Rex, because it doesn't matter which I choose, but permissions get repaired regardless. I 'll check it out tho'...

[testcase]

What's the difference between Verify and Repair?

[Donkey Hotay]

Verify reads the filesystem state (permissions values) and compares it with the documented 'good' state. It reports differences, but does not make any changes.

Repair reads the filesystem state (permissions values) and compares it with the documented 'good' state. It reports differences, and makes any needed changes.

[testcase]

Thank you DH. I still don't understand why to bother using Verify at all, why not just go for the Repair if changes are needed?