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Startup items

Avatar John Marriott
Each time I restart my MacBook pro I get a message - Items in the Startup items folder("/Library/Startupitems/") have not been started because the folder does not have the proper security settings.
Could anyone tell me what this means and why it has suddenly popped up.

Re: Startup items

Avatar Euan Williams
Hi John,
normally your startup items folder will probably have "custom access" listed in your 'get info' window (command-i). This is because the various activities are set up in System Preferences> Accounts> login items.

Option one would be to run Disc Utility and repair permissions. Quick and may work.

Option two: you just might make progress with a 'safe startup' (restart and press and hold 'shift' key immediately after the chime. Keep the key down until a progress bar appears or other symptom of system loading activity. Safe starts take a long time, and your log-in dialogue if you use a password will have a note in red to confirm this mode. Benefits are clearing out several caches and a wide range of other mysterious activities. Think "blowing the System's nose".

Your third course, provided you know what the login items are and how to set them up again -- usually a preference item in the selected programme -- is to remove them, restart and select them afresh.

Hope this helps a bit,
Euan

Re: Startup items

Avatar John Marriott
Hello Euan
Thanks for the info. I think I know what I did to get this dialog box up.
I inadvertently downloaded an item from the software update - the item being something called - Remote Desktop Client Update. This now appears in the installed software update list in the software update dialog box. However when I try to find this item in the Library/startup folder it is not there. In fact the startup folder is empty!
I have tried option one and it does not get rid of the warning.
John

Re: Startup items

Avatar Euan Williams
Hi John,

Did you do the Safe Startup, option 2 ?

let me know your OS version and its update status, e.g. 10.5.7, 10.6.2 etc (see "about this Mac").

If Apple Updater offered an update you would presumably have 3.3.1 or earlier installed and I wonder why you downloaded it "by mistake". Apple's Install procedures are pretty watertight these days, but maybe you cancelled an installation part way or something? It would appear afterwards in the Installed Software Update List in Software Updater if you had *NOT* updated it.

Did you think you actually completed the installation of Remote Desktop updater? (Current version is, I think, 3.3.2) See Apple's web page for it:
> http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/ < the pdfs there will tell you more about what's where, etc.

ARD is probably a red herring and the problem is more prosaic, not least since your startup items folder is empty, There (probably) really isn't anything invisible in the startup items folder either. But if you wanted to pursue that path you could use Onyx (the right one for your OS see Version tracker) to reveal any invisible files Parameters > Finder > Misc Options > show hidden files and folders, but this would be a false trail.

Don't forget to make these files invisible again if there's nothing there, and don't play with any files until you are sure what you are doing -- they're invisible for a reason.

if these nostrums don't work (did you do a Safe startup, option 2 ?) it just might be that there is some preference or other corruption somewhere. For a quick check try Onyx > Verify > Preferences.

BUT
here's the better bet:
Are you logging in as an
Admin a/c or as a
Standard a/c or a
Log-in only a/c
It may be that if you log in on another account the problem will not be evident. Try making a fresh account called "clean" to whether this will help.

I don't have your Mac in front of me. If all else fails, there is always archive and install, but try Account log-in choices first.

Hope this gets you a bit further,
Euan

Re: Startup items

Avatar John Marriott
Hello Euan
Yes I did use option 2 and it made no difference.
How did I download by mistake - by watching TV at the same time. I did complete the installation and it was at that point when I restarted that the dialog box came up.
It has not affected the laptop performance so I think I will let you look at it at the next meeting. In the meantime I will go on the Apple web page and have a look.
Thanks for your help
John

Re: Startup items

Avatar Euan Williams
Hi John,

just so happens that a new Mac user (Mel, about to join us) has had the exact same problem as you this evening, and we had to grapple with it. (fuelled by Mary's cheese sandwiches and some VERY good german Weissbier.)

We did the following:
1. Looked at Startup Items in Library. Found Router stuff and an old BT file, and some other bits.
2. we decided to chuck the files we found into the Trash (and keep them there just in case)
3. this made no difference (oh woe!)
4. Downloaded Onyx for 10.6.2 from Titanium Software via VersionTracker, and opened it at Parameters > Finder > Misc Options > show hidden files and folders.
5. Ticked the show hidden button, Finder restarts, went to explore Library > Startup Items and lo! there were two hidden items, one the .DS store and one icon.
6. Chucked these into trash, don't empty yet -- and unticked the show hidden files etc.
7. Finder restart
8. restarted iMac all in a state of bliss.

This is a new iMac, three weeks old from the shop.

Hope this is as good news for you as it seems to be for Mel, who is now exhausted!

Re: Startup items

Avatar John Marriott
Hello Euan
It all sounds a bit complicated for the likes of me. Since my last note to you I have another dialog box come up when I close the original one. This tells me that the 'Insecure Startup item has been disabled'. This is followed by the following info.
startupitems/.comapple.timemachine.supported has not been started because the folder does not have proper security settings.

This is so confusing for me - but it does not seem to be affecting the machine so I will leave it until the next meeting and let you look at, if you don't mind.
For ever grateful
John

Re: Startup items

Avatar Euan Williams
Hi John
please either let me know which version of OSX you are running (see earlier plea above).

Onyx is the best tool to do this procedure, but it matters that the correct version for your OS is installed.

If you let me know, I will download the appropriate version for our next meeting.

If you don't do that I can't easily help you at the meeting (broadband access there is difficult or impossible).
Euan

Re: Startup items

Avatar John Marriott
Hello Euan
The answer is -10.6.2
Many thanks
John

Re: Startup items

Avatar John Marriott
Hi Euan
Guess what I have been reading my OSX book and decided to go for disk utility again to repair permissions as you suggested in the first place.
I did a safe start and then went straight to disk utility and decided to repair permissions again and it worked. This time a whole load of what I can only describe as gobbledygook came up and a prompt to restart the machine. It worked, the dialog boxes have gone!!
Thanks again for your help on this matter, see you at the next meeting.
John
 
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