Newbie - Admin password to delete files?

tilttilt
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hi all



Still learning to adapt to the Mac since yesterday. Question: When I want to delete a group ofiles, the system asks me for an admin password. If my wife logs in (as a standard user, I am the admin) and she wants to delete files the systems asks for an admin name and password. Is this normal? Should the admin password be neeeded just to delete files?



Thanks and cheers

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    karl kuehnkarl kuehn Posts: 756member
    What this means is that you are trying to delete files that are not "yours". The password screen comes up so that you can authorize yourself to do it. I am going to venture the guess that you are putting files into her user account. You should instead be dropping files into her drop box (~/Public/Drop Box), and they will then get the right permissions automatically.



    For files that you have already moved the wrong way you should Finder->File->Get Info->Owership & Permissions->Details and change the owner to the proper user, and "Apply to enclosed items" for folders.



    Once you get used to the security system things will start to make more sense. Apple just has a more robust system than is default on Windows.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    lundylundy Posts: 4,466member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by tilt

    Hi all

    If my wife logs in (as a standard user, I am the admin) and she wants to delete files the systems asks for an admin name and password. Is this normal? Should the admin password be neeeded just to delete files? Thanks and cheers



    If she is asked to authenticate, it means the files she is trying to delete don't belong to her. You can see what their permissions are by logging in as her and choosing "Get Info" on the files on a right-click, on a control-left-click, or by choosing Get Info from the File Menu. The resulting Get Info window will have a pane labeled "Ownership and Permissions".



    Ask further and welcome to Macs.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    tilttilt Posts: 396member
    Karl and Lundy,



    Thanks for your responses. I guess the reason is that I moved all the files into both of our accounts by copying them from a CD that I had backed up from the Windows and Linux machines. Therefore since the files were not "created" by the user that was logged in I guess the system assumes they are not mine.



    Karl, I have to read your response again to understand exactly what you are trying to say and then I shall know better



    Cheers
  • Reply 4 of 10
    lundylundy Posts: 4,466member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by tilt

    Karl, I have to read your response again to understand exactly what you are trying to say and then I shall know better



    Cheers



    Heh - here's what you do: click once on a file to select it (if only the filename highlights, it thinks you want to rename- in that case, click on the icon).



    Then either right-click if you have a >1 button mouse, or control-click if not.



    Choose "Get Info".



    When the Get Info panel opens,, look for permissions. Click the arrow to open it up. You will see what the BSD permissions for Owner, Group, and everyone are. You can change them by authenticating as Admin and changing them.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by tilt

    Karl and Lundy,



    Thanks for your responses. I guess the reason is that I moved all the files into both of our accounts by copying them from a CD that I had backed up from the Windows and Linux machines. Therefore since the files were not "created" by the user that was logged in I guess the system assumes they are not mine.



    Karl, I have to read your response again to understand exactly what you are trying to say and then I shall know better



    Cheers



    tilt, i have seen this happen.... when you copy files from a CD, also it sometimes makes all the files 'read only'.... anyway looks like Karl and Lundy have taken care of you...
  • Reply 6 of 10
    tilttilt Posts: 396member
    Hi Sunil,



    I thought it could be the CD thing making files read-only, but that does not seem to be the case because I can delete some files whilst others ask for the password. It seems more prevalent when I delete a group of files or folders rather than single ones. I still have not been able to identify a pattern to this. When I do, I shall know more.



    OT - Sunil, are you from Madras?



    Karl and Lundy, the permissions are read-write, I checked. Let me try and find a pattern in this



    Thanks again and cheers
  • Reply 7 of 10
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by tilt

    Hi Sunil,



    I thought it could be the CD thing making files read-only, but that does not seem to be the case because I can delete some files whilst others ask for the password. It seems more prevalent when I delete a group of files or folders rather than single ones. I still have not been able to identify a pattern to this. When I do, I shall know more.



    OT - Sunil, are you from Madras?



    Karl and Lundy, the permissions are read-write, I checked. Let me try and find a pattern in this



    Thanks again and cheers



    yeah cool good luck with it...



    to explain

    my dad is indian and my mum is chinese, hence the indian name... let's see, i grew up in malaysia as a kid, then spent time in singapore, brisbane, melbourne, sydney, san francisco, sydney, and now living at "home" again after all this while (kuala lumpur, malaysia)... i'm 26



    never been to india or china, i'm quite an anglophile -- i blame the british, spent most my life in ex-colonies of the Empire... except for california which umm.... lets see... used to belong to mexico... and of course native americans before that....
  • Reply 8 of 10
    tilttilt Posts: 396member
    Cool.



    Cheers
  • Reply 9 of 10
    vox barbaravox barbara Posts: 2,021member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by sunilraman

    yeah cool good luck with it...



    to explain

    my dad is indian and my mum is chinese, hence the indian name... let's see, i grew up in malaysia as a kid, then spent time in singapore, brisbane, melbourne, sydney, san francisco, sydney, and now living at "home" again after all this while (kuala lumpur, malaysia)... i'm 26



    never been to india or china, i'm quite an anglophile -- i blame the british, spent most my life in ex-colonies of the Empire... except for california which umm.... lets see... used to belong to mexico... and of course native americans before that....



    This is quite a biography, isn`t it?

    best and warmly
  • Reply 10 of 10
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Vox Barbara

    This is quite a biography, isn`t it?

    best and warmly



    thanks voxy... lets just say i am somewhat confused but learning to enjoy my uniqueness
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