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[Rod]

Well done you. If you follow Jake’s instructions above I think we will be able to say you’ve done it. Now if everything else works as intended we can declare the whole process a success.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

I erased the internal SSD, installed the OS and migrated my data from the old SSD.
Thunderbird, Firefox and other programmes appear to work but AppStore not. One of my sons, who hasn’t been able to visit us for over a year, has just arrived, so Mac is no longer my #1 priority.
Watch this space - I’ll be back.

 

[IWT]

One of my sons, who hasn’t been able to visit us for over a year,

Maybe get him to sort it out after all, what are sons for? And daughters too, of course.

Ian

 

[kmbaroyale19]

You are joking
He follows my "Light Switch" philosophy which states that as long as the light switches on you don't need to know why or how. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
I only follow advice of people who know what they're talking about

 

[MacInWin]

ut AppStore not.

What does that mean? Are you properly logged into the AppleID account? You can check by going to System Preferences, click on "Apple ID" and logging in there.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

I just saw your post and wanted to reply quickly but ........
I was signed in, so I signed out and in again just to be certain. When I click on App Store in the Apple menu, a window opens but it is blank - see screenshot.
I am also unable to set up my printer because I don't have permissions - this may also effect other programmes. I have attached a screenshot of my home folder.
Unfortunately I must shut down now and won't be back until tomorrow evening. Thank you.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

I am not listed as Administrator and am unable to add my name from the window that opens - see screenshots. Is there a solution or a reason.
In case the answer is obvious, remember - I'm a Dummy.

 

[IWT]

I am not listed as Administrator

Who is? I could be mistaken, but I thought that if there is only one user and that user owns the Mac, it has to be an Admin account.

Ian

 

[kmbaroyale19]

Hello Ian,
I have no idea who "Administrators" is or where it came from. How can I delete it and what effect will it have?

 

[MacInWin]

Go to System Preferences, Users & Groups. All users are listed there with their authorities. What you uploaded has nothing to do with the Administrator subject.

All users in macOS are categorized as either Admins, or Standard, or Guest. To make certain changes that affect all users, an Administrators password is required. Hence, all Macs must have at least ONE admin account. Typically that is the owner of the machine, but not necessarily.

If you are NOT the administrator, you will need to log into the administrator account listed in System Preferences, Users & Groups. Or you can make yourself an Admin by going to SysPrefs, Users and Groups and clicking on the lock icon on the resulting pane, provide an admin password, then on your account, change to Admin, then enter the password you used to unlock the pane.

 

[IWT]

@Jake

That's a great post, as always. Educate me; is it true what I said: "I could be mistaken, but I thought that if there is only one user and that user owns the Mac, it has to be an Admin account."

Or can a single user/owner have a Standard or Guest account?

Ian

 

[MacInWin]

Ian, there must always be at least ONE Admin account. Typically, that the user who actually owns the machine. (I am going to be hesitant to call that person the "owner" because in Big Sur on the M1 systems there is actually an access level called "Owner" that is hidden within the security.) But in general, there must be at least one Admin account. So the main user could be standard, probably not guest, but there has to be at least one account with Admin privileges.

 

[IWT]

but there has to be at least one account with Admin privileges.

Thank you, Jake. That's what I thought.

Ian

 

[kmbaroyale19]

Users & Groups was the first thing I checked before posting. As the screenshot shows I am listed as the Administrator and the other user is a guest.

 

[IWT]

I am not listed as Administrator

I am listed as the Administrator

Well, at least we've got that settled, Neville. Well done I know, it's complicated but I'm really happy we sorted that out. Now you have the authority to make whatever changes you wish.

Ian

 

[kmbaroyale19]

No Ian. This is the problem. Although I am shown as Administrator I get messages (see post #47) stating that I don't have the necessary permissions.
Why is "Library" greyed out in this screenshot? On my old MacBook (OS 10.6.8) it is not greyed out. And why are those PDF files in there? I have a PDF stack on the desktop.

 

[MacInWin]

Your library is hidden from you by default. You can change that. I think part of the problem is that you are trying to access the "hard drive" in the images in #47, but you don't have the privileges to do that because part of that "hard drive" in Big Sur is the read-only and encrypted System Volume. Basically, in Big Sur there are two Volumes in the Container created by the installation process. One is labelled "Macintosh HD" by default, but seems to be "MacBook NCB" on your machine. That's fine to be renamed. However, there is also a Volume named "MacBook NCB - Data" in that same Container, which is where your account is stored and is the ONLY Volume you actually have permission to write to directly. If you want to verify that for yourself, you can open Disk Utility and see the Container with the two Volumes in it. There may be other Volumes there, too, but only these two are of any significance to you.

OK, with that background, your own Library, in the screenshot you showed, can be made unhidden. Here is an article with four suggestions: https://appletoolbox.com/unhide-access-mac-library-folder/ Make a backup first, then try these to see if you can unhide (un-grey) the Library.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

Due to the number of problems on this system, is there any point in making a back up? If I need to restore from it, I will be doing so with the problems. I still have the intact original SSD in an enclosure. Would it be more worthwhile to start over again - erase the internal SSD, install OS Big Sur and migrate from the original SSD. That way I can check from the start if I have Admin permissions and perhaps see at what stage things turn pear shaped.
May I ask what time zone you are in? I am in Germany and the time is 00:12 (just after midnight)

 

[MacInWin]

Yes, that is probably the best thing to do. When you boot for the first time after the installation, use Migration Assistant to move everything from the original SSD to the new internal one. Don't create an account on the new drive first, let the Migration do that for you. It will have the same account name and password as you had on the original drive.

I'm on the east coast of the US. It's 18:15 here.

 

[kmbaroyale19]

Thank you Jake.
I will try this tomorrow - I'm a morning person.