Mac App Crash Read Only File System Private Folders

Written by Mårten Björk

If your Mac crashes several times in a row, it is crucial to single out the problem. Find out if a particular application is a reason, or the entire operating system is affected. In the first case, you will get an application crash report with comments. To fix the issue, click Reopen to relaunch the app, or click OK to quit the alert window. Oct 09, 2019  Quitting the Mac App Store, then rebooting the Mac and relaunching the Mac App Store appears to resolve this problem. Mac is Hot and Running Slow After Installing MacOS Catalina This is likely due to the system reindexing files on the drive, and the system toll it takes to perform maintenance tasks that are necessary after reinstalling. The Cause of 'Read Only' Disk Errors. I have a USB drive that I purchased and use with various PCs at work and school. I am able to open the drive and can even copy files from the drive. But if I attempt to copy a file to the drive on my Mac, I get an icon telling me that I am not able to copy the file.

This article will help you understand how to browse your files on a Mac. Don’t panic, it’s not very complicated.

Understanding it

Your hard drive contains millions of files. Both your personal files such as documents, photos or music files, but also system files that your Mac needs to operate properly.

If all these files were in the same place, it would be very hard for you to find your stuff, right? It would be one gigantic pile of files. That’s why we have folders. You can think of a folder as a box in which you can put your stuff.

You can even put folders inside other folders. For instance, you could create a folder called “vacation photos” and put it inside a “memories” folder. Neat and tidy, just the way we like it.

Get started

Let’s get started browsing through your files. First, click the “Macintosh HD” icon on your desktop. A new window will appear.

This is called a Finder window. The Finder window allows you to explore the contents of your hard drive.

The Finder window – how it works

It’s quite easy to understand how to use a finder window. We’ll now explain the most basic things about it.

Resize it!

If you wish to resize a Finder window, just drag (keep mouse button pressed down) the handle in the lower right corner.

Change viewing options

If you wish to change the way things are viewed inside a Finder window, there are a few buttons you should know about.

Inside your hard drive

The hard drive of a brand new Mac contains four folders (click Macintosh HD to view them):

Applications

The Applications folder contains all your applications.

Library and system

The two folders called Library and System are not very interesting for beginners. They contain stuff that your Mac needs in order to work properly.

Users

The Users folder contains one folder for each user plus a Shared folder where the users can put stuff that they want all the users of the computer to have access to.

The folder associated with the user currently logged in (you) looks a bit different. Instead of looking like a folder, it looks like a house. This folder is called your Home folder.

Home folder

The Home folder is great. Every user on a Mac has one. It allows you to organize your stuff in a smart and easy way.

When you click your Home folder, you will see a lot of different folders. We’ll now explain what they do.

Desktop

Within your Home folder there is a folder called Desktop. It is an exact reflection of your real desktop. All files in that folder are visible on your real desktop.

Movies

Put your movies in this folder. What else needs to be said?

Public

If you want to share a file with another user, just put it in the Public folder and he/she can access it (your other folders can’t be accessed by other users).

Documents

Put your documents in this folder. Word documents, Excel documents, Pages documents – this is the right folder for them!

Music

Mac App Crash Read Only File System Private Folders Online

This is the place where music will be put. However, when you start iTunes it will automatically create a sub-folder called “iTunes” in the Music folder. If you wish to add songs to iTunes, just drag them to the iTunes icon and they will automatically be organized into the iTunes folder.

Sites

Mac App Crash Read Only File System Private Folders Windows 10

System

If you like to create web pages, put them here. Also, if you save web pages using your web browser, you might want to put them in the Sites folder.

Library

The Library folder is one of those geeky ones. The Library folder inside Macintosh HD contains stuff for the whole computer, while the Library folder inside your Home folder contains stuff unique for your user account. Well, never mind, you probably won’t need to touch this folder for a long time.

Pictures

This is the folder where you should put your images. If you use iPhoto in order to organize your photos, iPhoto will automatically create a folder called “iPhoto” inside your Pictures folder. If you wish to add images to iPhoto, just drag them to the iPhoto icon and they will automatically be organized into the iPhoto folder so you don’t have to do it yourself.

Search

Every Finder window has a search field. Just type something and your search will be performed.

To read more about it, read our article about Spotlight.

The Library directories are where the system and your code store all of their related data and resources. In macOS, this directory can contain many different subdirectories, most of which are created automatically by the system. In iOS, the app installer creates only a few subdirectories in ~/Library (such as Caches and Preferences) and your app is responsible for creating all others.

Table A-1 lists some of the common subdirectories you might find in a Library directory in macOS along with the types of files that belong there. You should always use these directories for their intended purposes. For information about the directories your app should be using the most, see The Library Directory Stores App-Specific Files.

Table A-1 Subdirectories of the Library directory

Subdirectory

Directory contents

Application Support

Contains all app-specific data and support files. These are the files that your app creates and manages on behalf of the user and can include files that contain user data.

By convention, all of these items should be put in a subdirectory whose name matches the bundle identifier of the app. For example, if your app is named MyApp and has the bundle identifier com.example.MyApp, you would put your app’s user-specific data files and resources in the ~/Library/Application Support/com.example.MyApp/ directory. Your app is responsible for creating this directory as needed.

Resources required by the app to run must be placed inside the app bundle itself.

Assistants

Contains programs that assist users in configuration or other tasks.

Audio

Contains audio plug-ins, loops, and device drivers.

Autosave Information

Contains app-specific autosave data.

Caches

Contains cached data that can be regenerated as needed. Apps should never rely on the existence of cache files. Cache files should be placed in a directory whose name matches the bundle identifier of the app.

By convention, apps should store cache files in a subdirectory whose name matches the bundle identifier of the app. For example, if your app is named MyApp and has the bundle identifier com.example.MyApp, you would put user-specific cache files in the ~/Library/Caches/com.example.MyApp/ directory.

ColorPickers

Contains resources for picking colors according to a certain model, such as the HLS (Hue Angle, Saturation, Lightness) picker or RGB picker.

ColorSync

Contains ColorSync profiles and scripts.

Components

Contains system bundles and extensions.

Containers

Contains the home directories for any sandboxed apps. (Available in the user domain only.)

Contextual Menu Items

Contains plug-ins for extending system-level contextual menus.

Cookies

Contains data files with web browser cookies.

Developer

Contains data used by Xcode and other developer tools.

Dictionaries

Contains language dictionaries for the spell checker.

Documentation

Contains documentation files and Apple Help packages intended for the users and administrators of the computer. (Apple Help packages are located in the Documentation/Help directory.) In the local domain, this directory contains the help packages shipped by Apple (excluding developer documentation).

Extensions

Brother ocr software download mac. Contains device drivers and other kernel extensions.

Favorites

Contains aliases to frequently accessed folders, files, or websites. (Available in the user domain only.)

Fonts

Contains font files for both display and printing.

Frameworks

Contains frameworks and shared libraries. The Frameworks directory in the system domain is for Apple-provided frameworks only. Developers should install their custom frameworks in either the local or user domain.

Internet Plug-ins

Contains plug-ins, libraries, and filters for web-browser content.

Keyboards

Contains keyboard definitions.

LaunchAgents

Specifies the agent apps to launch and run for the current user.

LaunchDaemons

Specifies the daemons to launch and run as root on the system.

Logs

Contains log files for the console and specific system services. Users can also view these logs using the Console app.

Mail

Contains the user’s mailboxes. (Available in the user domain only.)

PreferencePanes

Contains plug-ins for the System Preferences app. Developers should install their custom preference panes in the local domain.

Preferences

Contains the user’s preferences. You should never create files in this directory yourself. To get or set preference values, you should always use the NSUserDefaults class or an equivalent system-provided interface.

Printers

In the system and local domains, this directory contains print drivers, PPD plug-ins, and libraries needed to configure printers. In the user domain, this directory contains the user’s available printer configurations.

QuickLook

Contains QuickLook plug-ins. If your app defines a QuickLook plug-in for viewing custom document types, install it in this directory (user or local domains only).

QuickTime

Contains QuickTime components and extensions.

Screen Savers

Contains screen saver definitions. See Screen Saver Framework Reference for a description of the interfaces used to create screen saver plug-ins.

Scripting Additions

Contains scripts and scripting resources that extend the capabilities of AppleScript.

Sounds

Contains system alert sounds.

StartupItems

(Deprecated) Contains system and third-party scripts and programs to be run at boot time. (See Daemons and Services Programming Guide for more information about starting up processes at boot time.)

Web Server

Contains web server content. This directory contains the CGI scripts and webpages to be served. (Available in the local domain only.)



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