OS X Default User Template

Reposting from another blog as I have problems finding it again myself. Great info for setting up a default user profile on a Mac system. http://www.mytechmusings.com/2007/06/os-x-default-user-template.html

OS X Default User Template

I normally create a default OS X user template when prepping a master image for deployment. The last few times I've tried this I've run into a snafu or two, so it probably makes sense for me to document it here to jog my memory the next time I do it.

First, it's important to note that I've run into problems using the instructions from Mike Bombich's site here. The last few times I followed these instructions the default user template didn't stick. In fact, I've actually had more luck with the instructions posted by Glenn Rees in this forum post.

1. Tweak your default account including setting dock, clearing cache, recent items, etc. I usually name this account "teacher."

2. Login to the machine as root (I've had problems when I did these steps under a straight admin account as sudo).

3. Create a backup of your current English.lproj template. Don't just issue a mv (move) command to rename it-- create a copy of it using ditto instead.

3. Delete the default home directory files under English.lproj in /System/Library/User\ Template/English.lproj. Don't just delete the entire English.lproj directory!

4. Issue the following commands:

:~root# cd /System/Library/User\ Template/
:~root# sudo ditto -rsrcFork English.lproj/* English.lproj.bak
:~root# sudo rm -rf /System/Library/User\ Template/English.lproj/*
:~root# sudo cp -R /Users/teacher/* /System/Library/User\ Template/English.lproj/
:~root# sudo chown -R root English.lproj
:~root# sudo chgrp -R wheel English.lproj

5. Restart, log in as admin and repair permissions before creating a new account to see if it worked.

I know the sudo commands above are redundant but I just do it as a matter of habit. Slashes and astericks shown in commands above are critical! Also, I've read in some places that permissions on the default user template aren't important but I chown and chgrp on it just to be safe.

You cannot delete a file or a folder on an NTFS file system volume

You cannot delete a file or a folder on an NTFS file system volume where the files exist in paths that are deeper than MAX_PATH characters

Easiest way I find to delete folders like this is with the good old command prompt, using the remove directory command. The /S option will delete the entire tree below this folder and the /Q option will bypass any confirmations, so be sure you want to delete the directory you've specified.

Z:\>rmdir /?
Removes (deletes) a directory.

RMDIR [/S] [/Q] [drive:]path
RD [/S] [/Q] [drive:]path

/S Removes all directories and files in the specified directory
in addition to the directory itself. Used to remove a directory
tree.

/Q Quiet mode, do not ask if ok to remove a directory tree with /S

Z:\>RMDIR /S /Q Z:\DSMC

Microsoft has their own recommendations below:

Resolution 1: Use an auto-generated 8.3 name to access the file

To resolve this issue, you may want to use the auto-generated 8.3 name to access the file. This resolution may be the easiest resolution if the path is deep because the folder names are too long. If the 8.3 path is also too long or if 8.3 names have been disabled on the volume, go to Resolution 2. For additional information about disabling 8.3 file names on NTFS volumes, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

121007 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/121007/ ) How to disable the 8.3 name creation on NTFS partitions

Resolution 2: Rename or move a deep folder

Rename the folder so that the target files that are deeper than the MAX_PATH no longer exist. If you do this, start at the root folder (or any other convenient place), and then rename folders so that they have shorter names. If this step does not resolve this issue (for example, if a file is more than 128 folders deep), go to Resolution 4.

Resolution 3: Map a drive to a folder in the structure of the path

Map a drive to a folder inside the structure of the path of the target file or folder. This method shortens the virtual path.

For example, suppose you have a path that is structured as follows:

\\ServerName\SubfolderName1\SubfolderName2\SubfolderName3\SubfolderName4\...

In this path, the total character count is over 255 characters. To short the length of this path, to 73 characters, map a drive to SubfolderName4.

Resolution 4: Use a network share that is as deep as the folder

If Resolution 1, 2, and 3 are not convenient or do not resolve the issue, create a network share that is as deep in the folder tree as you can, and then rename the folders by accessing the share.

How to create a virtual image of a working Windows installation with Disk2vhd

How to create a virtual image of a working Windows installation with Disk2vhd.

A cool how to I'd like to try once I get time.

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=1983&tag=nl.e064

Motherboard, CPU, RAM Diagnostics Flowchart

Cool Motherboard, CPU, RAM Diagnostics Flowchart

http://www.fonerbooks.com/cpu_ram.htm#motherboard cpu ram 3

How To flush the DNS cache on Apple Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger

To flush the DNS cache on Apple Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger, do the following.

- type “lookupd –flushcache” in your terminal to flush the DNS resolver cache.