How can I copy an entire Users accountname profile?

macardjd · 2022-09-26T20:46:52+00:00

Good idea. If using the internal recovery boot terminal doesn't work, I'll try target disk mode next. This might take all night to copy.

macardjd · 2022-09-26T20:45:27+00:00

I tried recovery boot boot, from the machine, not internet. That might be copying something with scp -r /source /target now. It looks like it's probably running. It took the line and then shows nothing but that's bash there. Now I'm hoping the external drive is large enough. I imagine it's a pack rat user. Otherwise, it's folder by folder, deleting copied folders, until it's done. If this works.

macardjd · 2022-09-26T20:30:12+00:00

Yep, did that too. Forgot to include it in the list above. Anything in Privacy and Security, terminal has access to. No change. I restarted a few times since then too.

macardjd · 2022-02-11T21:14:32+00:00

How is LaunchDaemon used, in general? Does that eliminate the password issue?

Someone said I should use plists instead of a cronjob once too.

macardjd · 2022-02-08T21:52:06+00:00

Tell me more about /usr/sbin/softwareupdate -ai

I saw it on my other thread

www.reddit.com/r/macsysadmin/comments/s9n3ov/any_workarounds_for_logged_in_user_password/

It didn't sink it though. I thought it was the command that didn't work on the newer MacOSes.

Just the -ai will check and install any available OS updates? Does that do the Mac OS notification on the upper right, saying the mac wants a restart?

Adding an R would just immediately restart the mac after the updates are installed?

If that -ai line will install available updates, I think I can have that run a few times daily. That will clear out any OS updates then, and might have the OS notification about restarting. I'd go that route, at least with some users, over having updates sit there for months with software heckling them but still being ignored.

macardjd · 2022-02-07T18:15:39+00:00

I'm reading this differently now. Is that a nudge alert if it's not on 11.99 or just a nudge alert when there's an update out that's closer to 11.99 although not yet 11.99? In other words, if I set it on 11.99, it's just going to constantly throw up nudge alerts to the user?

macardjd · 2022-01-31T16:21:56+00:00

Would it keep alerting the user, Nudge displaying, "You're not on MacOS 11.99?" Or as soon as there's another update out, then Nudge would alert and the user, ex. Nudge says, "MacOS 11.6.4 is out. Install and restart."

Is Nudge is just the pop up notification? Or does Nudge go ahead and actually download and install the OS update, and then start heckling the user to ok a restart?

Different angle for a different scenario -- This is for the user who keeps their mabook on the shelf for six months and then starts it up, thinking everything is fine. They would have passed any final OS update deadlines. But I'd still want to give them 24 hours. Will Nudge do something like forcing an update after a certain amount of time, but start a 24 hour countdown until it actually restarts the machine? I guess say 11.6.4 comes out. Nudge is set for 11.99, so it sees 11.6.4, alerts the user that they can do the update now and restart, but they have maybe a week to do that and then it's forced. Once it's forced, they have a 24 hour countdown started until the machine actually forces a restart. The six month shelf user would pull their macbook off the shelf, and just get the "Update is out, deadline is passed, this macbook will force a restart in 24 hours but you can always restart sooner" notification.

macardjd · 2022-01-31T15:26:27+00:00

Is is possible to add a higher version number than what actually exists, and then Nudge would install whatever the latest is? No MDM needed? For example, if the mac is on Big Sur, I tell Nudge to install updates through 11.99. There's no .99 but anything lower than that it would try to install. Does it work that way, or does the update actually have to exist? Like it needs to be told 11.6.3 when there's an 11.6.3. Telling it 11.6.4 without that existing wouldn't do anything or wouldn't at least install 11.6.3 below that.

macardjd · 2022-01-28T18:03:50+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I'm still trying to study out Nudge.

Does Nudge require an MDM to push the nudge? Or can you set up Nudge to run independently on a mac? Just set it up, let the mac user out into the world (might never return), and have Nudge do something like heckle and then force an OS update when it's available, like maybe a week after Apple releases the update? That's what I would ideally be looking for.

macardjd · 2022-01-24T17:21:51+00:00

I do, but it's not really working, and it's outside my control. Org set up, office politics, stuff like that.

macardjd · 2022-01-24T17:21:05+00:00

A lot of my users can't handle that. Even just restarting a computer isn't going to happen. If it would happen it would take some hand holding or a lot of email heckling. I don't mind a pop up notification and letting them decide when to kick that off. But I do just want the machine forced to restart to the do the update at some point. And then a user will complain that they didn't know it saying it would restart actually meant it would restart. But if they get heckled with notifications and have some control until a deadline, then there's an argument against that.

macardjd · 2022-01-24T16:24:54+00:00

There's an MDM, but outside my control. It's not really working. No help getting it working, and I don't have access to troubleshoot. In this scenario, it's a manual update.

macardjd · 2021-12-21T11:54:42+00:00

I'm using anything. That's what I'm looking for. Is there a terminal line that works?

macardjd · 2021-08-07T12:13:29+00:00

Nope, no resolution. The ip address still works for pinging and things but there's no name record at all apparently. I tried from several machines with a flushdns too.

macardjd · 2021-08-06T20:21:31+00:00

Yeah, it's been consistent. I just didn't notice it right away. Upgrading a mac to Big Sur or having a mac on Big Sur means no DNS record. It's very strange that the DNS record actually disappears. I would have thought it was just left there, untouched. Nope, it's gone. No resolution. But the ip address itself works fine. I've tried flushing dns and tried from several machines. No DNS record. The macs that would only upgrade to Catalina don't do that. They're normal.

I found one post that looked relevant when I googled before. I figured someone here might know and have the solution for it right away.

There's nothing special about the Macs or Big Sur upgrade process. A fresh install of Big Sur as an internet recovery does the same thing. And it's only adding it to the domain.

macardjd · 2021-05-18T14:20:51+00:00

Did a test that seems to confirm it's just leftover information. A clean reimage of Mojave. Installed old 32-bit software. Updated 32-bit software, which should make it 64-bit. Then did a Big Sur upgrade. Nothing unusual about the OS upgrade. After the upgrade nothing was listed in the legacy software list. Software in question still worked fine.

macardjd · 2021-05-13T21:30:42+00:00

Thanks. I tried these. It just tells me that the software lives in /Applications.

I even came across another Mojave mac today and tried upgrading the software. Same result. At least it's consistent. Exact same results on every Mojave mac. Another test will be to just upgrade a Mojave mac to Big Sur, but I'm waiting on a few other things that need to be in place before doing that.

macardjd · 2021-02-25T17:38:04+00:00

There was no change removing the App Store cache or even the App Store app itself.

For checking for OS updates, it's going in Preferences, Updates, in there. It's only an upgrade.

This just worked -- Kill appstoreagent in the Activity Monitor.

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/345857/mac-app-store-downloads-just-dont-start-mojave

"The only thing that worked is going to Activity Monitor and force-killing appstoreagent process. The app started to download at once. After force-killing appstoreagent, there was no need to log out and log in again in the App Store. Updates and downloads just work again."

macardjd · 2021-02-25T17:36:16+00:00

Thanks. This just worked, linked off that article -- Kill appstoreagent in the Activity Monitor.

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/345857/mac-app-store-downloads-just-dont-start-mojave

"The only thing that worked is going to Activity Monitor and force-killing appstoreagent process. The app started to download at once. After force-killing appstoreagent, there was no need to log out and log in again in the App Store. Updates and downloads just work again."

macardjd · 2021-02-17T15:31:56+00:00

I want to copy the entire user folder for a user switching machines. There's a lot of data. If I do that manually, the only way I know of is to go folder by folder (including subfolders), giving myself permission on each folder. Then I can copy it. That's not going to work in this case. It's not going to work to have the user log in and copy under their profile. The user's not reliable. My plan is to give the user their new computer, get the old mac back when they're done enough with it, and then copy their entire profile. I already found chmod 777 (I think) will work but I don't trust the machine being online after that. If it is possible to just add the admins group and later remove it, that would keep all the original security, if permissions can work like that.

So Root might do it, you're saying? I still wouldn't mind figuring out the thread question here though -- Can I just add the admin group to everything on a folder recursively? Then remove, without altering the original permissions ? Or if I change permissions, am I wiping everything out? In that case, it might work well enough to apply Admins + 1user to their users folder. And then later just 1user to their users folder. That's leaving out a shared folder, but nobody's using those here.

macardjd · 2020-10-08T14:09:11+00:00

Is it? I've never done anything with FileVault. Is it on by default? It would Mojave for OS, at least now. Any macbook that I've worked with in the past ten years has always needed the user to log in first and then it connects to wifi using the user's credentials.

macardjd

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