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Reiver555

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 24, 2016
1
0
Sometimes, us regular folk are overwhelmed by the rest of those ‘computer pros’ [being kind] and what you say simply goes right over our heads? :/

So for those of you who are as ignorant about this device we are currently using as I am [no offense] I have the simple, layman’s FIX for the problem of continuous “Authentication Required” pop up, which quite frankly, if not fixed will suck up 15% of the rest of your life !!!! :(

So here we go:

1) Double click on your HD icon.

2) Go to ‘File’ - ‘Get info’ (your Macintosh HD box will pop up on the left top of your computer ^ < .

3) At the bottom, click on ‘Sharing & Permissions’ arrow > .

4) A little box should open and tell you that “you have READ ONLY permission.

5) At the very bottom right, you will see a locked padlock.

6) Click once on the lock to open it. When you do, that dreaded “Finder.app wants to make changes. Type your password to allow this” note will come up for hopefully the very LAST time ever! Whoooohoooo.....!!!

7) Enter the same password that you have been required to do for the past 27 years!!! lol

8) When you click “OK” bottom right, the lock will open and you are “IN”....

9) Once you are “IN”, don’t be afraid!!! Smile... :)

10) Once the lock is open, you will see this ( + - * check sign ) at the bottom, now highlighted in black.

11) Click on the + and you will be given some choices.

12) Choose “administrators” - and then ‘select’.

13) You will be taken right back to the bottom, ‘read only, write only or read & write’?

14) For “administrators”, click on ‘Read & Write’. [for safety purposes, it may be best to leave all of your other choices as “read only” so no one else can mess with your HD?]

15) Once you have highlighted those permissions, re-click on your “padlock” which will lock, save and close your changes.

16) Your Sharing & Permissions tab should now say “you have custom access”?

17) Close your Mac HD info, try drag a dropping any doc you choose into your HD icon, and “viola”!!! You are now a MacHead and your life has improved by about 100% !!!

(Ok, maybe 15%, but still, doesn’t it feel good????) lol Remember, you can ALWAYS GO BACK and make changes here or reset it how it was, but in my experience, “If it ain’t broke......” Best of luck and Blessings on your computer journey.... ;)
 
This is basically the same as writing to the root of the C drive on a Windows computer. What exactly is the purpose? Why would you want to save in that location when your profile gives you a perfectly good place to put stuff?
 
Altering security without fully understanding all the consequences, both immediate and potential, does not make one "a MacHead".

I treat posts like this from first-time users as "How to lower the default OS protections so crapware can install without your knowledge or intent."

Going back and changing it later won't bring any lost horses back into the barn.
 
Yes. Saving by dragging and dropping on your HD icon saves to the root of the drive which is a bad idea and exactly why your Mac by default demands a password.

Instead, make an alias of the Documents folder in your home folder on the desktop and you can drag and drop files into it to your heart's content.
 
Apple doesn't like anyone messing with root folder, which is why u have permissions and security in a profile... for just that use case...
 
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