Installing software into Root user

[CLOD-HOPPER]

Hi experts — I do hope that someone can help me. The other day, I needed to go into root user to do something that only root could do. I use a Logitech Marble Mouse (which has ALWAYS worked fine). While using root user, I noted, with some irritation, that my marble mouse buttons were working the opposite way to how they work in my regular account (i.e. not the way I had configured them, in System Preferences. This made navigating in root very awkward, so I got the Logitech Mouse driver installer, and installed it into Root. Then, I configured the buttons to how I wanted them, and it worked satisfactorily from then on. However, the next day (in my regular user account), I found that my Logitech mouse was not working aright (just as it had first been when i had used it in Root user), so I uninstalled it and re-installed the latest driver, then restarted in my regular account. The mouse was exactly the same. System Preferences, when I clicked on the Logitech icon, said that no device could be found. I then spent HOURS on the Web, looking for solutions (like which folders, in Library, to throw out, and to put the Logitech startup daemon into Log-in Items (etc.).

Nothing has worked, and the mouse difficulty is driving me nuts. I wondered whether it was the installation of software into Root user that has caused this malfunction. Is it dangerous to install software into root, and how may this trouble be undone, if this has caused it. By the way, an alert keeps appearing, which says this:

System Policy is blocking Logitech system extensions from loading, which may result in some Logitech devices not working properly.


You can enable Logitech system extensions from the Security and Privacy System Preferences pane. You may need to restart your Mac for the changes to take effect.

I made sure that all relevant files were allowed, in Security and Privacy, but nothing changes. The mouse still is not recognised, for configuration purposes, in System Preferences.

With thanks in advance, for any helpful replies,
C.H.

 

[casperes1996]

If I were to guess, I'd say that the Logitech deamon starts up under the root user when you boot and is then prevented from also starting as a user-deamon. I have no experience with Logitech software, but I recommend just deleting it from Root.

For the future, I highly recommend not logging in as root directly, but instead using sudo to do a specific action as root, rather than logging in to everything as root

 

[Ruskes]

Are you saying you disabled the SIP ?

To check


Launch Terminal, located at /Applications/Utilities.

At the Terminal prompt, enter the following:

csrutil status

Press Enter or Return.

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

If I were to guess, I'd say that the Logitech deamon starts up under the root user when you boot and is then prevented from also starting as a user-deamon. I have no experience with Logitech software, but I recommend just deleting it from Root.

For the future, I highly recommend not logging in as root directly, but instead using sudo to do a specific action as root, rather than logging in to everything as root

casperes1996 — thanks for the reply, which may lead somewhere eventually. However, because I don't use Terminal without pasting in a command that has been given to me to use, I could not do as you recommend (I would not know which command to use). I was forced to log back into Root. There, I deleted the Logitech folder in Library, and the Logitech Preference Pane in System Preferences (it was not possible to move Root's Logitech Launch Daemon (in the Logitech folder) to the trash — Root said that this was impossible, because it was open. So, I deleted the entire folder. Also, the Logitech launcher daemon and the Logitech Device Manager, shown in Security & Privacy > Accessibility, were dimmed out and could not be deleted. So, having deleted the Logitech folder etc., as I have said, I logged out of Root, and logged back into my regular account. I then installed Logitech Marble Mouse software again (latest version), restarted, but things are just the same.
If you could kindly give me a Terminal command to paste into Terminal, I would do as you have suggested. I hope that you can and will.
C.H.

 

[chabig]

Bottom line. You should not install anything as root.

Having said that, any mouse difficulties you had were probably the result of some setting in your user account. Had you reset the Logitech settings there it probably would have worked fine. If not, you could have deleted any Logitech related preferences from your Library and it would have probably worked fine.

Going forward I think you should probably log back into the root account and do your best to uninstall everything Logitech related. Do the same in your user account. Then do a fresh install of the software from your regular account.

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

If I were to guess, I'd say that the Logitech deamon starts up under the root user when you boot and is then prevented from also starting as a user-deamon. I have no experience with Logitech software, but I recommend just deleting it from Root.

For the future, I highly recommend not logging in as root directly, but instead using sudo to do a specific action as root, rather than logging in to everything as root

Casperes1996, I'm very grateful for your comments, but the problem is now solved. In System Preferences > Security and Privacy, I noticed a little alert that said that software from Logitech was being blocked. I clicked Allow, and voila! — it now works fine. I have learned a hard lesson with this. It has taken hours to crack it, and I think that your initial suggestion was the key to it. So, thanks very much indeed!
C.H.
[doublepost=1549776165][/doublepost]

Bottom line. You should not install anything as root.

Having said that, any mouse difficulties you had were probably the result of some setting in your user account. Had you reset the Logitech settings there it probably would have worked fine. If not, you could have deleted any Logitech related preferences from your Library and it would have probably worked fine.

Going forward I think you should probably log back into the root account and do your best to uninstall everything Logitech related. Do the same in your user account. Then do a fresh install of the software from your regular account.

Chabig, thanks for your comments. I certainly won't install anything else in Root!

 

[casperes1996]

Casperes1996, I'm very grateful for your comments, but the problem is now solved. In System Preferences > Security and Privacy, I noticed a little alert that said that software from Logitech was being blocked. I clicked Allow, and voila! — it now works fine. I have learned a hard lesson with this. It has taken hours to crack it, and I think that your initial suggestion was the key to it. So, thanks very much indeed!

I thought you said in your initial post that you'd already clicked allow? Were there two separate entries for it?
Anyways, glad it's fixed.
And if you ever need super user privileges in the future, remember that it's much easier to just use sudo

 

[CLOD-HOPPER]

I thought you said in your initial post that you'd already clicked allow? Were there two separate entries for it?

No, that was different. In my first posting, I meant that the two names showed up in Accessibility, and that they were ticked. By Allowed, in that posting, I meant the tick-marks that showed. In the much later post, it was a kind of button that had the word Allow on in, which I clicked. That was a different kind of "allowing" to the first one, and it worked. Phew, the relief!
With kind regards, C.H.