Permissions issue after macos update

[canadian lamp]

Hello,
I updated my Mac OS right after the Major update in late March. After the update, I had major permissions issues with pretty much every single file I have created. The issue being getting an error for every file stating that I do not have permissions to modify it.I could save as if I recall correctly, but it only worked one at a time. when checking online it appeared as though previous threads recommended messing around with the username which seems risky. I am the only user on this machine. The only solution to this problem was to do a Time Machine restore.

I really wanted this update due to all the security patches. I should note that I am on Ventura and cannot upgrade to sequoia due to a mission-critical application breaking after Ventura

i remember the old days when repairing file permissions used to be easy. is it still?

the question is what can I do to fix this issue so I can update the OS? Is it still easy to fix the file permissions like the old days?

 

[Fishrrman]

A few questions:

Are you booting from an external drive?

What files are you trying to modify?
Are they data files that YOU have created?
Or... are they files belonging to the OS?

Where are most of your files kept?
In your home folder?
Or... do you keep them somewhere else (folders outside the home folder, other drives, etc.)?

 

[canadian lamp]

A few questions:

Are you booting from an external drive?

What files are you trying to modify?
Are they data files that YOU have created?
Or... are they files belonging to the OS?

Where are most of your files kept?
In your home folder?
Or... do you keep them somewhere else (folders outside the home folder, other drives, etc.)?

1. Not booting from an external drive.
2. Files to modify would be Microsoft Excel, word, images in preview, pages, numbers.
3. yes all of these files were created by me,And no one else ever had ownership of them or were able to read
4. files almost exclusively kept in my documents folder (in home), nothing out of the ordinary

 

[Fishrrman]

"Files to modify would be Microsoft Excel, word, images in preview, pages, numbers.
yes all of these files were created by me,And no one else ever had ownership of them or were able to read
files almost exclusively kept in my documents folder (in home), nothing out of the ordinary"

OK, I'll offer my suggestion as to what to try.
Whether you do this or not is up to you (as in, "you can lead the horse to water...")

You're going to need an external drive of some kind. Nothing special. It can be:
- an external SSD
- an external platter-based HDD
- even a USB flashdrive will probably work.
But it has to be an EXTERNAL drive.

What to do next:
Let's try this on a single file first. If it works, just do it with more files.

Do this:
Connect the external drive.
Create a folder on it, just so you know where everything goes. Give it any name at all.

Now:
Open the documents folder on your INTERNAL drive (the one that's giving you trouble).
Pick a "problem file". ANY file at all.

COPY that file over to the folder on the external drive.

OK, next step:
Close the window (in the finder) for the external drive.
We want to see only the drive icon on the desktop.

Click ONE time on the icon for the drive to select it, then...
Bring up the "get info" box for it (you can type "command-i")

At the bottom of get info, click the lock icon and enter your administrative password.
Put a checkmark into "ignore ownership on this volume" (Sharing and permissions).
Close get info.

Now, open the folder you made where the single file you "copied over" is.
COPY IT BACK OVER into your home folder. Try the documents folder (that's where it came from).

If you have to correct the name (because the original is still there with the same name), do so. Just add a "1" to the end of the filename or anything you wish. What's INSIDE the file won't change.

Next...
See if you can open the file that you have just copied back over.
What happens?
Does it now open?

If it does, SUCCESS.

WHY you did this:
When you choose to ignore ownership on the entire external drive, copying files from it into your account will cause those files to automatically "come under the ownership" of your account (just as if you had originally created them).

You don't have to do this "one-at-a-time".
You can copy an entire block of files to the drive, then copy them back.

PRINT OUT this reply so you can follow along.
Try this with just a few files, come back, and let us know how it went.
Good luck.

 

[canadian lamp]

This sounds like an interesting idea. to get out of the situation, I Time Machine restored last week. Everything is fine from the restore, but the concern is if I upgrade non I'm not sure if this will happen again. I'm trying to be a little proactive.