MAC USERS: Request for info/help re permissions on DAZ 3D folder
mavante
Posts: 734
I have a tech ticket submitted for a world of woes that started suddenly with DS 4.11 on iMac, High Sierra, last week. Since those problems started, I have tried an old Public Build of 4.12 that I had installed last year, and it, too, is exhibiting weird anomalies, though different from the 4.11 ones, that render it essentially unusable.
I strongly suspect now that something—I don't know what or how—munged (technical term) the permissions on one or more folders that DS has to read from or write to or both. Gone are the days when I could run "Repair Permissions" from Disk Utility, and Apple's current instructions for fixing permissions on the "Home" drive are ridiculously complex (for me), involving rebooting into some restoration mode, running commands in Terminal, then reinstalling the system software! I wish I was joking.
If I could simply narrow down what, if any, particular folder or file related to DS might have gotten munged, I can just fix it in the "Get Info" window. That, I can do.
After some looking and comparing, one thing I have noticed is that the folder Applications/DAZ 3D does not have "system" listed in the "Name" column under "Sharing & Permissions," but all the other folders I spot checked in Applications do have "system" listed for "Read & Write." Currently my Applications/DAZ 3D folder only has my username (Me) listed to Read & Write, plus "admin" Read only and "Everyone" Read only.
If you know, could this be causing the problems I'm having?
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There has been some recent discussion of this in the Mac FAQ thread here https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/16599/the-mac-faq#latest , along with a possible solution (if your issue is indeed the same).
Thanks. It doesn't look like it's the same situation. If anybody who uses a Mac with Daz Studio can simply tell me what permissions they have set on their "DAZ 3D" folder inside their "Applications" folder, then I could start there for troubleshooting. I know there are Mac users in this forum. I'll pray one will come along and help.
Right click on your HomeFolder and select Show Info, Click on the little padlock and enter you password, click on you name in the list and then on the little cog and select Apply To Enclosed Items.
Then Open the Terminal and enter the following command -
diskutil resetUserPermissions / `id -u`
Then Reboot your system
No, this is not necessary. Entering OSX Recovery mode doesn't mean a complete reinstall of the System. The chance to fix Permissions on the Home Directory is in there under the reset password option.
Rather than type out the full instructions I will point you to a site which explains the routine.
https://www.howtogeek.com/195912/how-when-and-why-to-repair-disk-permissions-on-your-mac/
Scroll down till you get to
How to Repair Home Directory Permissions
Give it a try, or use the Terminal routine mentioned by "Platnumk" in the post above.
Hope this helps/makes sense.
Note: Don't know why they use the name "Terminal" - it sounds so final, especially in an airport!????
Thanks. Except the issue I'm trying first to determine and resolve if necessary, as I have stated several times in this thread, is the permissions ONLY on the "DAZ 3D" folder inside the "Applications" folder on my Mac. If that isn't clear, I am attaching an image that I hope will make it clear, so that I might hope to get an answer to the question I am asking. The "Applications" folder is NOT IN my "Home" folder. It is OUTSIDE the "Home" folder.
So if you would be kind enough to do a "Get Info" on, and look at the permissions on, your Applications/DAZ 3D folder, and tell me exactly what permissions are set for whom on THAT FOLDER, then you would be answering the question I have asked, which will be a help. See my attached image which shows the current state of permission on my Applications/DAZ 3D folder. Thanks.
Well, according to Apple it is. It is Step 7 in their own instructions, "Resolve issues caused by changing the permissions of items in your home folder." And the issue I am FIRST trying to resolve is the permissions ONLY on the DAZ 3D folder inside the Applications folder—which is NOT IN my "Home" folder.
I don't know how I have failed so miserably in trying to state, and get answered, this simple question: WHAT ARE THE CORRECT PERMISSIONS FOR THAT FOLDER, AND ONLY THAT FOLDER? Jeez, I even put "DAZ 3D FOLDER" right in the title of this thread!
Surely somebody in the world of Daz must have some idea of what the CORRECT permissions should be for that folder. I have attached above, and will attach again, a screen shot of "Get info" on THAT FOLDER on my Mac, showing what the permissions are currently set to. As I said in the opening post, all the other folders and files I have spot checked in the Applications folder have "system" listed to read and write, but as the attached image shows, the DAZ 3D folder does not currently have "system" listed. I'm simply trying to determine--first and foremost, before anything else--if it SHOULD be there.
Which is exactly why I never once said that it did. I said that Apple, in its instructions for repairing permissions, SAYS TO REINSTALL the software. And if you doubt it, I have provided a link above to Apple's own instructions. See Step 7.
And I don't want to change my password. All I want, at the moment, is for someone, anyone, in this world, to simple please look at their own Applications/DAZ 3D folder, and tell me if their permissions on that folder are the same as, or different from, the permissions I currently have set on that folder, as is unequivocally clear in the attached image. And I'll just keep asking that same question until someone, anyone, understands that questions and answers that question.
Thank you for the other link you give me.
You DAZ 3D folder permissions are as they should be, the reason it doesn't work is because it can't access folders stored in ~/Library/Application Support/DAZ 3D/
This folder is inside you HomeFolder & is normally hidden from view
You do not need to boot into the recovery system & you don't need to re-install the OS, I know this as I did this procedure 48hrs ago.
mavante, I'm sorry you're having troubles. I looked through this entire thread, and still can't discover exactly what your problems are. Here's a thought or question: why are you having this trouble when it's clear other Mac users don't?! I haven't needed to look at permissions in over a decade...
If you need to access something in ~/Library/Application Support/DAZ 3D/ all you need to do is hold down the Option key while accessing the GO menu in finder. "Library" normally will NOT show in that menu, but if you use the option key it WILL, about halfway down, just under Home.
That will take you to the library folder. Then in inside the Application Support folder you can find the Daz 3D folder. You can reset the permissions there if needed. Mine are set to Read and Write for everything.
Maybe that will help. You shouldn't need to restart or give it your password to make the change, but you can do both if needed or asked to.
Not saying this will fix the problem, but it will take you to the folder Platnumk mentioned if you need to.
Resetting the permissions for just the DAZ 3D folder under Application Support doesn't work, You have to do the complete HomeFolder.
FYI: this problem was caused by the latest MacOS Update which changed a lot of folder permissions, Apple called it a security feature but it has cuase ploblems all over the place not just with DAZ.
Platnumk, I disagree. I haven't had any permissions troubles.
Hallelujah! Someone finally answered the question! Thank you very much. I now can eliminate that as a source of the problems.
Yes, thanks. I know where my user Library folder is and how to get into it. (In fact, mine has been visible for a very long time, but that's another story about tricks in High Sierra.)
Okay. Then next I will try running in Terminal that command you gave upthread and reboot. Thanks again.
DS 4.11 opens as usual, shows all my content, but crashes instantly if I try to open a scene file, or if I try to load any content into a new scene, or if I even attempt to create a primitive, any primitive.
An old public build of 4.12 will open, and will allow me to create a primitive, but it has none of my Smart Content showing as anything but the "missing" icons with the product names under them. Then trying to load any content from within Smart Content gives a file not found or available error. Content Manager paths are the same in both versions.
Thanks, Zai. I have no trouble getting to my user Library and Application Support folders. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "Read and Write for everything." The permissions on my ~/Library/Application Support/DAZ 3D folder are:
_spotlight...............Read only
xxxxxxxxxx(Me).....Read & Write
staff........................Read only
everyone...............Read only
That seems to be the same as it is for other folders in my Application Support folder.
Hrm...my settings seem to be different than yours. I have spotlight turned off anyway.
Platnumk - you are prob right about having to do the enclosing folder.
the _spotlight shouldn't be there but the other are correct
mvante, that postgresql thing isn't working for the Macs right now. That means Smart Content doesn't work. Smart Content was always rather dumb anyway.
I can't help wonder why you're even needing to get into Permissions.... I never do, and things work just fine. Awhile ago I decided to delete all DAZ Content folders, and ran into some huge problems. Suddenly I couldn't install any DAZ software.... maybe a few other things. Then I did some research and found the default content folders that are supposed to be automatically setup when DIM and DAZ Studio are installed. I re-created those folders, and everything worked just fine.
Another thought or question comes to mind. Pardon me if I missed the info... Where do you install your DAZ content? I install my content on an external 3TB hard drive. That's because my internal 1TB Mac hard drive just doesn't have enough room for all my data!
It does work for most Mac users.
Why do you say "things work just fine" when PostgreSQL doesn't work for you? If you don't want it, that's your prerogative, but clearly things aren't working correctly for you.
I've been using Macs since they were invented, and I don't even know what "permissions" are, where they come from, or what they do. I hope you resolve the problem.
Permissions are settings which define which rights you and other users have on folders and files, eg this file is readonly, you can create files in that folder, you can execute that program, and so on.
PostgreSQL does work, When I 1st upgraded to MacOS Catalina 10.15.4 the PostgreSQL wouldn't work for me to start with but after fixing the HomeFolder permissions (see earlier post) then deleting the following folder
~/Library/Application Support/DAZ 3D/cms
Then starting DAZ, then re-importing metadata everything was back up and running
PostgreSQL does not work on my Mac. I get a message saying a connection can't be found. This is common knowledge. Last time I looked at an in=depth conversation on this topic, someone blamed Apple for the problem and they had no idea when the problem would be fixed. I looked at the suggestions, and insights. None of them mirrored my own problems or experience. If PostgreSQL were fixed, we wouldn't need to resort to our own repairs that don't always work. I can use DAZ Studio.... everything except Smart Content or anything requiring PostgreSQL. I am trying to help someone here. Sometimes it helps to look at your experience and compare it to someone elses. It's all part of troubleshooting.
The procedure I outlined above should fix that error, The problem was caused by apple, which in their hindsight changed the permissions on multiple levels & then had the cheak to say it's a security measure.
I tried that.... didn't help. I'm done here.
While PostgreSQL may be failing for you, in a way that the available fix doesn't resolve, it is working for others. No one will stop you from saying "It doesn't work on my Mac", but that is not the same as "It doesn't work on the Mac" - especially when other Mac users say it is working for them.
Have you tried using the fix by @Totte to see if that will help. You can find the is near the bottom of this page https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/5309246
Basically, the issue with the CMS is that Postgres (the database engine) have certain requirements for the privs of the folder were the database is stored.The database is stored in ~/Library/Application Support/DAZ 3D/cms. Apple did changes in how it likes permissions to be, Postgres disagrees with that.
If I remember right on my old Mac I did have a time when I installed Daz and it complained about PostGres. But I solved it by going and downloading the PostGres thing from within DIM, running it and then everything ran fine. Had to do that FIRST.
I haven't left the building; I got a reply from a tech support person to my tech ticket (about the crashing that led to my starting this thread), asking me for some more info, which I sent. I'm waiting to hear back from them before I do anything on applying the permissions info some of you have kindly supplied in this thread.
Meanwhile, I'm reading with interest all these posts about the postgre issues in various incarnations of OS X. For a year or so I've been working just fine in High Sierra, DS 4.11. Even when this latest weirdness started with DS crashing instantly over and over, my Smart Content always showed up, and no complaints about not being able to connect. That "Cannot connect to a valid postgre" whatever certainly has happened a number of times over the months, but usually only when I tried to start DS very shortly after a reboot. If I quit DS, waited a bit, and restarted, it would connect fine. (Don't know why.)
But now I have a new Mac on order, which will be here in about a week. I'm probably leaving High Sierra behind—and any hopes of Nvidia usage with it. For better or worse. I may just trash DS altogether on this Mac, and dive into 4.12 (shudder) on the new one. But I see from Platnumk that "permissions" is STILL an issue in trying to get current versions of DS to run on current versions (right?) of OS X.
This Mac I'm on, though long in the tooth, is still a great computer for 98 percent of the work I do professionally, and I simply don't have all these massive issues with other programs that I see Mac users dealing with in these forums daily with DS. I guess we will always be second-class (at best) citizens when when it comes to DS. It's a shame.
In any case (no pun intended), the new Mac has eight times the computing power and memory of this one—and I've been managing to do CPU-only DS renders of animations on this one! So I will put DS on the new Mac and see if I can jump through the flaming hoops necessary to be able to use it.
Hey Mavante..
That's exactly what I did. I gave up my old 2010 Pro beast and got a fairly cheap 2017 used iMac with a 5K screen while I wait for Apple to do whatever they are going to do with the new Pros. I never buy the first year out on a new pro so this will hold me for a year or 2 before I make that huge investment.
This one took me from 1MB VRAM to 8MB and its running on High Sierra 10.13.6. It did make a major difference in how DS ran on my machine. Much less sticky, and of course, faster renders. I am lucky in that I am the same as you where it runs fine for 98% of what I do, which is mostly Photoshop. With maxed out ram (64) and a big 2TB SSD drive, its been a big improvement. I don't have much in the way of issues either except a bit slow on the render end, which also affects viewport in Iray, which can be annoying when I need it. I shifted the need for render horsepower to another box we have in the house by getting Irayserver set up on it since that box has the Titan cards to zoom through renders. It cost a bit to get the license, but I can happily stay on the Mac and send my renders to the big box for now.
It does have TB3 in case Apple/Nvidia ever decide to play nice and I can maybe run an external card.
ETA: I am running 4.12 with no probs, even when having 4 instances open plus PS, browsers, streaming, chat, etc etc.