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Original poster
I get this when trying to move Firefox to my applications folder:
picture1pi9.png


I am the only account on this computer and I have admin access (obviously). Please help.
 
I get this when trying to move Firefox to my applications folder:
picture1pi9.png


I am the only account on this computer and I have admin access (obviously). Please help.

In a terminal please type 'ls -le /<pathname>/Firefox.app'
and 'ls -le /Applications', where '<pathname>' is the list of
folders that enclose Firefox. Also, type 'id'.

If you return to us with the results, we may be able to help
you.

Thanks.
 
Or the easy way..

Delete the existing Firefox.app in your Applications folder and then try again.
It'll work this time.




This happen from time to time for me with Firefox and with Transmit.
 
Time to time? It just happens once in a while?

For Infrared:

For the first command:
Code:
ICanHazMoarRAMz:~ cyclonejack4$ ls -le /Applications/Firefox.app
total 0
drwxr-xr-x@ 9 502  admin  306 Jun  5 11:20 Contents

Second command:
Displays a list of all my applications. I assume you want the entry for Firefox:
Code:
drwxr-xr-x@  3 502           admin          102 May 12 06:45 Firefox.app
And, for the 'id' command:
Code:
ICanHazMoarRAMz:~ cyclonejack4$ id
uid=501(cyclonejack4) gid=501(cyclonejack4) groups=501(cyclonejack4),98(_lpadmin),80(admin),101(com.apple.sharepoint.group.1)


Hope that helps.
 
Yes, time to time.. I'm talking over the last 7 years that I've been using OS X.
Particularly when I don't change the permissions on my /Applications folders.

Seriously, if you already have Firefox in that folder, just trash the original and drop the new one and you're done.

FYI, you're missing a space in the first command. A space between the -le flag and the path you're specifying.
 
Thanks.

Well, I just want to know if this will keep happening each time I update Firefox manually. I know that won't be that annoying if I do it once in a while, but I want everything to be working fine.
 
I get this when trying to move Firefox to my applications folder:
picture1pi9.png


I am the only account on this computer and I have admin access (obviously). Please help.

I have the same problem after I transfer my stuff from my old MB to MBP. I thought it was some permission issue that I did when I moved my stuff over to the new Mac.

My solution was to delete old app, and then copy the new one.

But I would like to know any real solutions. This bothers me some time.
 
Well, that is a real solution! 🙂

But ultimately, it is a permissions issue.

EDIT: Working on a reproducible example right now.

So.. I changed the permissions on Firefox.app so the ownership uid:gid = root:admin, which is how most apps are listed by default.

Code:
null:~ yellow$ ls -led /Applications/Firefox.app 
drwxr-xr-x@ 3 root  admin  102 May 30 12:45 /Applications/Firefox.app

Guess what happens when I try to drag & drop a new Firefox.app into my /Applications folder? Yep. You guessed it. I'm not allowed because I lack the proper permissions.

So, I changed the permissions so I am the owner.

Code:
null:~ yellow$ ls -led /Applications/Firefox.app 
drwxr-xr-x@ 3 yellow  admin  102 May 30 12:45 /Applications/Firefox.app

Guess what I can do now? Overwrite the original file with a drag & drop.

So, you can either fire up the Terminal and change permissions when this happens, or via Get Info.. or just trash the original and copy over the new.
 
Time to time? It just happens once in a while?

For Infrared:

For the first command:
Code:
ICanHazMoarRAMz:~ cyclonejack4$ ls -le /Applications/Firefox.app
total 0
drwxr-xr-x@ 9 502  admin  306 Jun  5 11:20 Contents

Second command:
Displays a list of all my applications. I assume you want the entry for Firefox:
Code:
drwxr-xr-x@  3 502           admin          102 May 12 06:45 Firefox.app
And, for the 'id' command:
Code:
ICanHazMoarRAMz:~ cyclonejack4$ id
uid=501(cyclonejack4) gid=501(cyclonejack4) groups=501(cyclonejack4),98(_lpadmin),80(admin),101(com.apple.sharepoint.group.1)


Hope that helps.

Well, it certainly looks like you have the necessary
rights for these files. And if you can delete Firefox
and then do the copy, it's hard to understand why
that message popped up.

When I next boot into OS X, I'll investigate. Thanks.
 
So, you can either fire up the Terminal and change permissions when this happens, or via Get Info.. or just trash the original and copy over the new.

What can I do in Terminal to change them?

I've done Get Info on the Applications folder to make sure I could read and write and I can. So, I give up!
 
It's not about read/write. It's about ownership, e.g., the UID and GID that claim ownership of the app bundle. Do this in Terminal:

ls -led /Applications/Firefox.app

And post your results.
 
Code:
ICanHazMoarRAMz:~ cyclonejack4$ ls -led /Applications/Firefox.app
drwxr-xr-x@ 3 cyclonejack4  cyclonejack4  102 May 30 12:45 /Applications/Firefox.app
 
Now.. that looks like you should have no problems overwriting Firefox.
And, just to make sure, Firefox isn't running is it?

Code:
null:~ yellow$[B] ps -axwww | grep Firefox[/B]
33371 ??         0:04.12 /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/MacOS/firefox-bin -psn_0_3232533
33378 ttys001    0:00.01 grep Firefox

I'm beginning to think that in your case, there's something else at issue here, namely your apparent lack of membership in GIDs 81 and 79.

Code:
null:~ yellow$ id
uid=501(yellow) gid=20(staff) groups=20(staff),98(_lpadmin),81(_appserveradm),79(_appserverusr),80(admin)

Are you a local admin? Are you authenticating via OD or AD or something?
 
Well, I already replaced it. I just trashed the original and dragged it into my folder and had no problems.

But, I hope this doesn't come up again.

Thanks for the help. 🙂
 
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