Re: Moving the USERS folder

In article <BobHatesSpam-0F52A7.18061915112005@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Bob Blaylock <BobHatesSpam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> In article <stevewjackson-70467C.13294215112005@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> "Steve W. Jackson" <stevewjackson@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > In article <1132014195.897874.201000@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> > jambay53@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> >
> > > Hi all,
> > >
> > > Is it technically possible under OS X to move the Users folder to a
> > > different partition or drive?
> > >
> > > If yes......is it *advisable*? :-)
> > >
> > > I've tried to simply drag the Users folder to another
> > > partition.......the OS gave an error, more or less saying it couldn't
> > > be done.
> > >
> > > Curiously, there was a posting on this group about 3 years ago stating
> > > that the NetInfo Manager utility is used to move (or re-link) the Users
> > > folder. Is that still the case?
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > >
> > > Jason Paris
> >
> > Personally, I would not recommend *moving* it at all. But on an earlier
> > system I had, I copied it and then set all accounts to use that location
> > for their home directories.
> >
> > It's painfully difficult to get OS X to use a moved /Users folder as the
> > starting point for creating home folders for new user accounts. That's
> > why I suggest not moving it. You also can't simply drag it, as you've
> > found, due to security issues.
>
> You can if you're logged in as root. Of course, you first have to
> enable the root account.

I will NEVER advocate enabling the root account. There is absolutely NO
task that you ever need to use in OS X that requires enabling it. None.

>
> > You can, however, use the sudo and ditto
> > commands in Terminal to copy its contents to another location. Then you
> > can use NetInfo to change each user's account to refer to the new
> > location. Only after doing this and testing each one should you
> > permanently remove the originals.
> >
> > Once that's done, and with the original /Users effectively empty, new
> > accounts land there awaiting an update via NetInfo to a new location,
> > after you've copied their newly created one to the alternate spot and
> > removed the original.
>
> What I did, and what appears so far to be working exactly as it
> should, is the following:
>
> Logged in as root, I copied the /Users/ director (by dragging and
> dropping from the Finder, just as you said could not be done) to the new
> location. I then renamed the original /Users/ directory, and from a
> command line, used "ln -s" to create a symbolic link to the new
> locations. So on my system, /Users/ is a symbolic link to the Users
> directory on a different volume. Once I was sure this worked, I deleted
> the original /Users/ directory (which had a different name now).
>

[ snip ]

You should re-read what I posted. I did NOT state that copying via the
Finder "could not be done". I didn't say it could, either. But it's
not ever going to work unless the root account is enabled. And I
strongly advocate against EVER enabling root in OS X. It's absolutely
not necessary.
--
Steve W. Jackson
Montgomery, Alabama
.

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