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From: Harry on 24 Nov 2008 03:49
In article <barmar-80D731.02283824112008(a)mara100-84.onlink.net>,
Barry Margolin <barmar(a)alum.mit.edu> wrote:

> In article <harry-0DB523.00050624112008(a)shawnews.wp.shawcable.net>,
> Harry <harry(a)thisgroup.c> wrote:
>
> > > > Is it possible to restore Console files accidentally deleted via Time
> > > > Machine?
> > >
> > > You mean the console log files? Log files are rotated periodically by
> > > Mac OS X automatically so that they don't build up and consume too much
> > > disk space.
> >
> > I think I accidentally deleted this:
> > Logs 15-00-17-979 - DirectoryService - DirectoryService.server.log
> > And perhaps another one. There is no crashreporter in there anymore and
> > I'm pretty sure I remember it there before.
> >
> > > What makes you think Time Machine deleted them?
> >
> > Not TM. Me. Accidentally. Now I need to restore them from TM if
> > possible.
> >
> > > What are you looking for, exactly?
> >
> > Logs 15-00-17-979 - DirectoryService - DirectoryService.server.log
> > Its in the Trash but I can't empty the trash completely. Its in use
> > somewhere. And I can't Undo the delete because its been too long.
>
> IF it's in the Trash, just drag it back where it came from.

If I knew where all the files were that make up Console I could restore
them. It might be just a lot easier to restore from the DVD - or not.
:)
From: Jolly Roger on 24 Nov 2008 08:58
In article <harry-0DB523.00050624112008(a)shawnews.wp.shawcable.net>,
Harry <harry(a)thisgroup.c> wrote:

> > > Is it possible to restore Console files accidentally deleted via Time
> > > Machine?
> >
> > You mean the console log files? Log files are rotated periodically by
> > Mac OS X automatically so that they don't build up and consume too much
> > disk space.
>
> I think I accidentally deleted this:
> Logs 15-00-17-979 - DirectoryService - DirectoryService.server.log
> And perhaps another one. There is no crashreporter in there anymore and
> I'm pretty sure I remember it there before.

How did you accidentally delete that exactly?

Do you use an administrative account for your normal day-to-day
activities? If so, you should consider removing administration
privileges from that account. Ask and I'll explain more.

> > What makes you think Time Machine deleted them?
>
> Not TM. Me. Accidentally. Now I need to restore them from TM if
> possible.

Well, the operating system should re-create log files as needed
automatically. Like I said, it's standard procedure for the OS to delete
old log files periodically anyway.

> > What are you looking for, exactly?
>
> Logs 15-00-17-979 - DirectoryService - DirectoryService.server.log
> Its in the Trash but I can't empty the trash completely. Its in use
> somewhere. And I can't Undo the delete because its been too long.

I guess the system is still using it. You should be able to restart the
computer to allow the system to close the file in the trash. After
restarting you should be able to empty the trash.

> > > When I go back in time certain files (Users/Me/Library/Caches)
> > > is empty. This can't be right. Perhaps Time Machine can't read them?
> >
> > Cache files are temporary. That's their nature.
> >
> > > Or should I reload them from the OS X Install DVD?
> >
> > Why would you want to restore these cache files?
>
> > Are you trying to solve a particular problem? If so, it would be
> > helpful to know what the problem is.
>
> Yeah - my install seems to be in a mess! :)
> Freezes several times a day, spinning beach balls, etc.

Might that be because you deleted more than you should have - perhaps
parts of the operating system?

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
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Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR
From: Ian Gregory on 24 Nov 2008 09:17
On 2008-11-24, Harry <harry(a)thisgroup.c> wrote:

> Is it possible to restore Console files accidentally deleted via Time
> Machine? When I go back in time certain files (Users/Me/Library/Caches)
> is empty. This can't be right. Perhaps Time Machine can't read them?

Time machine does not back up everything, certain files are excluded by
by default by various mechanisms, see for example:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20080328025026826

As someone else pointed out, log files are automatically rotated by the
system. If you delete a live logfile then it should be recreated by the
system when it next tries to log something to it (though the "correct"
way of clearing a logfile in Unix is generally to cat /dev/null to it).

> Or should I reload them from the OS X Install DVD?

The files you are interested in are probably not on the DVD, they would
be created by the system after initial install. They may not have been
backed up by Time Machine but it shouldn't matter that you deleted them,
unless of course they contained any data that you specifically need.

Ian

--
Ian Gregory
http://www.zenatode.org.uk/ian/
From: Harry on 24 Nov 2008 13:08
> > > > Is it possible to restore Console files accidentally deleted via Time
> > > > Machine?
> > >
> > > You mean the console log files? Log files are rotated periodically by
> > > Mac OS X automatically so that they don't build up and consume too much
> > > disk space.
> >
> > I think I accidentally deleted this:
> > Logs 15-00-17-979 - DirectoryService - DirectoryService.server.log
> > And perhaps another one. There is no crashreporter in there anymore and
> > I'm pretty sure I remember it there before.
>
> How did you accidentally delete that exactly?

Says sheepishly....I was trying to go through things and delete them
that didn't seem pertinent. Because of Time Machine I wasn't worried
about deleting anything...guess that was false confidence. Also I
thought they would be regenerated instantly when needed but I shouldn't
have deleted files so high up in the food chain.

> Do you use an administrative account for your normal day-to-day
> activities? If so, you should consider removing administration
> privileges from that account. Ask and I'll explain more.

Yes and I realize the risks. This is a good example. But I'm always
configuring stuff and I don't want to have to log out and log in every
time I need to change something that needs authorization.

> > > What makes you think Time Machine deleted them?
> >
> > Not TM. Me. Accidentally. Now I need to restore them from TM if
> > possible.
>
> Well, the operating system should re-create log files as needed
> automatically. Like I said, it's standard procedure for the OS to delete
> old log files periodically anyway.

Yes looks better this morning since the system have been restarted. "In
in doubt, restart".

> > > What are you looking for, exactly?
> >
> > Logs 15-00-17-979 - DirectoryService - DirectoryService.server.log
> > Its in the Trash but I can't empty the trash completely. Its in use
> > somewhere. And I can't Undo the delete because its been too long.
>
> I guess the system is still using it. You should be able to restart the
> computer to allow the system to close the file in the trash. After
> restarting you should be able to empty the trash.

You're right. That worked just fine.

> > > > When I go back in time certain files (Users/Me/Library/Caches)
> > > > is empty. This can't be right. Perhaps Time Machine can't read them?
> > >
> > > Cache files are temporary. That's their nature.
> > >
> > > > Or should I reload them from the OS X Install DVD?
> > >
> > > Why would you want to restore these cache files?
> >
> > > Are you trying to solve a particular problem? If so, it would be
> > > helpful to know what the problem is.
> >
> > Yeah - my install seems to be in a mess! :)
> > Freezes several times a day, spinning beach balls, etc.
>
> Might that be because you deleted more than you should have - perhaps
> parts of the operating system?

Could be - my browser is still hanging a lot. That's the main thing.
I'll watch the Console today to get some clues.

One thing seems odd though. Under LOG FILES, /Library/Logs,
HangReporter, Console (and Opera right below it) the dates are grayed
out. Those are for yesterday (when I deleted some files). Do you often
see grayed out files in Console? There is 1 for Console and 4 for Opera.
From: Jolly Roger on 24 Nov 2008 15:32
In article <harry-F7560B.12083324112008(a)shawnews.wp.shawcable.net>,
Harry <harry(a)thisgroup.c> wrote:

> > Do you use an administrative account for your normal day-to-day
> > activities? If so, you should consider removing administration
> > privileges from that account. Ask and I'll explain more.
>
> Yes and I realize the risks. This is a good example. But I'm always
> configuring stuff and I don't want to have to log out and log in every
> time I need to change something that needs authorization.

Your demonstrated lack of knowledge with regards to how Mac OS X
privileges actually work combined with the fact that you've deleted
potentially important files in your system suggests to me perhaps you
shouldn't be using an administrator account for day-to-day tasks.
Further, your assumption that using a non-administrative account would
require you to log out and back in to do administrative work is
incorrect. Not only is it possible to do administrative work from a
non-administrative account - Mac OS X actually makes it quite simple and
easy!

The initial user account Mac OS X creates during installation may be an
administrator account, but running with higher privileges than needed is
never a good idea. When you are logged in as administrator, everything
you do, every program you run (directly or indirectly, purposefully or
inadvertently) is executed with administrative privileges with access to
more parts of the system than normal users. So if you make a mistake, or
worse, if you unknowingly run a trojan / worm in that account, you can
damage and alter critical system files with little or no acknowledgment
from the system. Remember that lots of files and folders in Mac OS X are
owned by the "admin" group, of which the administrator account is a
member. The Applications folder is just one example of such a folder.
When you are logged in as administrator, Mac OS X allows you to modify
such files and folders at will.

Mac OS X is designed such that you can accomplish all administrative
tasks from a non-administrative account simply by entering the username
and password of an administrator when prompted. So while you do need to
*have* an administrator account, there's really not much of a reason to
log into an administrative account for day-to-day use.

The secure thing to do is to create an account just for administration,
then remove administrator privileges from your day-to-day account.
Here's how to do it:

First, open and unlock the System Preferences > Accounts panel.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click Accounts.
3. Click the lock icon to unlock the panel (if needed).

Next, create a new administrator account:

1. Click the [+] button. A new user account sheet appears.
2. If you are running Mac OS X 10.5 or later, from the New Account menu
at the top, choose Administrator.
3. In the Name text box, enter a name, such as "Administrator" (without
quotes). While I personally find "Administrator" to be handy, there is
nothing special about this name. Just pick something you can remember.
4. In the Short Name text box, enter a short name, such as "admin"
(without quotes). While I personally find "admin" to be handy, there is
nothing special about this name. Just pick something you can remember.
5. In the Password text box, enter a secure password. If you need help
creating a secure password, click the little key icon to the right of
this text box, and an assistant will help you come up with a secure
password. Personally, I prefer to use an entire phrase (with appropriate
spacing, capitalization, and punctuation) as my password. I try to pick
phrases that contain one or two numbers or special characters. The goal
is to pick a password phrase that you will easily remember, and easy to
type, but will be difficult to guess.
6. In the Verify text box re-enter the secure password.
7. If you are running Mac OS X 10.4 or earlier, check the "Allow user to
administer this computer" checkbox.
8. Click Create Account.

Next, remove administrator abilities from your normal user account:

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click Accounts.
3. Click the lock icon to unlock the panel (if needed).
4. From the account list on the left side of the Accounts panel,
highlight your normal user account name.
5. Clear the "Allow user to administer this computer" checkbox.
6. Log out for the changes to take effect.

That's it. Now whenever you are asked for an administrator account's
credentials, you can enter the administrator user name and associated
secure password.

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR
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