10.4.9 upgrade moved files, annoying.

[kahnowerh]

Hello.

I'll get right into it:

My first hint was when safari stopped referencing SIMBL files...

Then I noticed that my iCal events were not showing up...
And iTunes music was not on iTunes...
And pictures weren't showing up on iPhoto...
And GarageBand... And Mail...

And (etc, etc, etc)...

Turns out ALL of the files that were in my home directory are now in a folder of the same name in the applications folder.

Now:
Mac HD> Users> Kahnowerh (Home) = completely empty, while:
Mac HD> Applications> Kahnowerh (was Home, now folder) = contains everything that should be in the former location.

ie:
Kahnowerh (Home)> Desktop (desktop icon) = empty
Mac HD> Applications> Kahnowerh (folder)> Desktop (folder) = everything that was on my desktop


I could drag files to their appropriate places, but it doesn't seem like this should have happened in the first place.
And if I do begin an epic campaign of dragging, I'm afraid it will become messy and I'll be left with duplicates or end up erasing something.

What's the easiest way to go about doing this?

Has this happened with anyone else?

 

[kahnowerh]

right... and...

I upgraded via Software Update.

After things seemed funky I suspected the update had been interrupted, so I ran the combo installer.

Things went from annoying and messy to just annoying (I think the combo installer actually tidied up all of my files by shoving them into a folder, whereas the first update had only created new (empty) folders for applications to reference while leaving the rest alone)

 

[MacHeadCase]

Welcome to Mac-Forums, kahnowerh.

I might be wrong but it sounds like you changed your home directory's name which is the biggest no-no you can do.

If this is the case, here is a thread where this topic was already discussed (no the symptoms aren't the same as yours but renaming a home directory makes the Mac react in different ways): http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57427&highlight=home+files. There is a link to an Apple Knowledge Base Article on the right procedure on changing a home directory's name.

Here's another (with a possible workaround): http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25604.

I hope this helps. :girl:

 

[MacHeadCase]

Had another thought...

If you haven't renamed your home directory, try re-applying the 10.4.9 Combo update manually (you'll find the download section on the Apple website, in the Support section. Repair disk permissions using Apple's Disk Utility just in case the first update messed up the permissions (though I doubt it...) and see where that takes you.

If it doesn't fix anything, you might have to open the apps that have lost the links to the folders and, making sure they are in their right place, re-assign the path to them.

Another idea would be to create a new user account, import your folders, settings, and see if this new account works any better than the old one. If it does, it means there is software in your old account that is messing up something in it. If the new account isn't any better it does indeed mean that the update might have gone wrong somehow, somewhere, and did something to the system.

It can happen, a momentary glitch in the internet download, an app still running on your Mac, etc. But if this is the case, re-applying the Combo Update ought to fix it, IMO.

 

[kahnowerh]

Thank you for the quick reply!

Tried repairing disk permissions (after running System Update)
Then I ran the Combo...

But, I guess somehow I changed the name of my home directory.
Followed the steps in the following link and my problem is resolved!

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107854

(Additionally- had to move the changed directory (previously home, now changed to folder w/ same name as home) back to "Users" before renaming, etc.)

Thank you (!) for your help.

My day has become much better.

 

[MacHeadCase]

Glad your problem is solved.

But remember: no renaming home directories from now on.