OS X :: Major Bug In Snow Leopard Deletes ALL User Data
Oct 12, 2009
Reports have been cropping up on the Apple Support forums that users have been losing all their data due to a nasty bug in Snow Leopard, Apple's latest Operating System. Many users are reporting that all settings are being reset and most data is gone, according to iTWire.
The problem, can easily be reproduced when a user logs into the 'guest' account, either on purpose or by accident, and when they log back out of the account and back into their normal one, they find that their account has been fully reset with all data wiped and lost - the account is like a brand new one. The home directory still exists under "/Users/username" but is completely empty.
Users are reporting that the data is unrecoverable and cannot be found anywhere on the hard drive, and the only way to restore it is if the user has been performing backups on a separate hard-drive. Apparently the problem has been present since a few days after launch, as the forum post dates back to 12th September, but as of yet, Apple has been silent.
It seems the only work around at this stage is to disable the Guest account, or at least disable it and then re-enabling it so that it's a native Snow Leopard account. Another suggestion is to create a new account and enforce parental controls, if you really need a temporary account.
It's not clear how many users are affected, but it seems like any user who had Leopard before the upgrade, and had the guest account enabled are affected and are at risk.
Reports of a potentially critical Snow Leopard bug that can erase a user's account data have continued to surface since the operating system's debut [Updated with Apple official comment].
Since Mac OS X 10.6 launched in late August, numerous reports online have detailed the issue, which is triggered by logging in and out of a guest account on a Snow Leopard machine. Upon logging back in to their regular account, users will find that it has been wiped of all data.
The issue has prompted numerous threads (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) on the Apple Support Discussions, with reports suggesting the issue cannot be reproduced with any exact certainty. Apple has yet to publicly acknowledge the issue.
"When I logged into my MacBook Pro this morning, it was as if I had logged into my Guest Account and not my standard user profile," user parshallnet said. "No icons on the desktop, the desktop wallpaper was the default 'space' photo and not the one I had assigned, no documents in the docs folder, apps behaved as if I'd never opened them before."
The issue was initially reported when Snow Leopard first launched, but complaints have grown as adoption of the platform has continued. Monday, Engadget highlighted the issue.
A month ago, CNet detailed a potential fix for the issue, which is reportedly caused when users have had a guest account enabled for login prior to the install of Snow Leopard. The easiest way to avoid the issue is disabling the guest account.
If afflicted by the bug, the home folder can be restored, though without a backup, the loss of data is likely permanent. If a user has Time Machine running, they can restore their Snow Leopard installation while holding 'C' at startup and choosing "Restore from Backup" from the "Utilities" menu.
Update: In a brief statement, Apple acknowledged the issue Monday evening, according to CNet
"We are aware of the issue, which occurs only in extremely rare cases, and we are working on a fix," a spokesperson said in a prepared statement.
Since its launch in August, Snow Leopard has been received with positive reviews and strong sales. A quick update, Mac OS X 10.6.1, was released soon after, but apparently did not provide relief from the guest account bug.
Mac OS X 10.6.2 is currently in beta and only available to developers. It has nearly 150 general focus areas. [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
Everytime I quit the Safari, it automatically deletes all my cookies data, even though I ask it not to. In the settings section it seems ok, cause I checked in the check box to save my cookies.
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Now it appears the drive is dying. It won't boot to get to the login - it gets to the blue screen and mouse cursor in the upper left, then circular spinning countdown in the center, then repeat, then hang at the blue screen. I can hear the drive making a repeated winding/reading type of noise when it gets to the point where the login should be coming up.
Here's what I've done so far:
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So here is what I'm going to do.
- Purchase replacement drive and do a clean Leopard install - Put the existing failing drive in my USB powered enclosure
I don't have a time machine backup to work from.
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I have tried very hard to find the answer to my transferring question, but nowhere do I find my answer nor does Apple offer free help or even help by email.
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+can You Guys Pls Explain Me... How Can I Transfer Eveyhing Exactly As Is It From Main Admin User To Another Admin User And Then Delete The Main Admin User...???
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Do I need FileVault on for the administrator in order to do this? If not, as an administrator, why can't I see what's on other user is doing? Is there a way as an administrator I can see what's files are downloaded, created, websites visited, etc? I'm aware of creating a user account with Parental controls, but would that give me the ability to see what's in the folder?
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The only concern I'm wondering about is email contacts, Internet bookmarks and possibly a few other small things.
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2) Should I aim to have the same username on the MBP as on the G4, or will this cause problems?
3) Any other tips on getting my stuff from the old computer to the new one!
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As an administrator (without FileVault protection) on SnowLeopard, I created a standard user account (test user1) with FileVault protection. I just want to get familiar with it before creating real accounts. But as an administrtor I can't look at files created by test user1. I get a message that I don't have permission. Do I need FileVault on for the administrator in order to do this?
If not, as an administrtor, why can't I see what's on other user is doing?
Is there a way as an administrator I can see what's files are downloaded, created, websites visited, etc? I'm aware of creating a user account with Parental controls, but would that give me the ability to see what's in the folder?
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