Yet another flaw with Snow Leopard

[Candlelight]

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Mac fan, but ever since "Snow Vista" got released I haven't heard many positives about it. Here's the latest bad news:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/10/12/snow_leopard_guest_account_bug_deletes_user_data.html

Reports of a potentially critical Snow Leopard bug that can erase a user's account data have continued to surface since the operating system's debut.

Since Mac OS X 10.6 launched in late August, numerous reports online have detailed the issue, which is triggered by logging in and out of a guest account on a Snow Leopard machine. Upon logging back in to their regular account, users will find that it has been wiped of all data.

The issue has prompted numerous threads on the Apple Support Discussions, with reports suggesting the issue cannot be reproduced with any exact certainty. Apple has yet to publicly acknowledge the issue.

"When I logged into my MacBook Pro this morning, it was as if I had logged into my Guest Account and not my standard user profile," user parshallnet said. "No icons on the desktop, the desktop wallpaper was the default 'space' photo and not the one I had assigned, no documents in the docs folder, apps behaved as if I'd never opened them before."

The issue was initially reported when Snow Leopard first launched, but complaints have grown as adoption of the platform has continued. Monday, Engadget highlighted the issue.

A month ago, CNet detailed a potential fix for the issue, which is reportedly caused when users have had a guest account enabled for login prior to the install of Snow Leopard. The easiest way to avoid the issue is disabling the guest account.

If afflicted by the bug, the home folder can be restored, though without a backup, the loss of data is likely permanent. If a user has Time Machine running, they can restore their Snow Leopard installation while holding 'C' at startup and choosing "Restore from Backup" from the "Utilities" menu.

Update: In a brief statement, Apple acknowledged the issue Monday evening, according to CNet

"We are aware of the issue, which occurs only in extremely rare cases, and we are working on a fix," a spokesperson said in a prepared statement.

Ah well, Windows 7 will be out in a week to clear things up...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/2965990/Review-Windows-7

 

[Supreme Admiral]

I fucking can't wait for Windows 7! I'm so tired of Window XP!!!

 

[StolenThunder]

Oh, I don't know. I've not heard a great deal of particularly negative stories about 10.6, though this is of course a pretty serious bug.

I'm pretty happy with it. My biggest problem is slower iPod syncing, and a bug with the menubar when leaving an iPod in during standby.

 

[Candlelight]

I fucking can't wait for Windows 7!

Been using it since early August. Not bad. Still can't get audio right although I'm thinking it's a virtual issue (using it on VMware).

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Snow Leopard has worked great for me. Haven't had any problems with it.

I certainly wouldn't even think about jumping ship to Windows just because of some guest account problem. Talk about overreaction.

 

[JonathonWally]

Snow Leopard has worked great for me. Haven't had any problems with it.

I certainly wouldn't even think about jumping ship to Windows just because of some guest account problem. Talk about overreaction.

Well, maybe if you could read you would see how it's an issue that using a guest account deletes your regular user profile.


But, reading is over-rated anyway isn't it?

 

[Warp Coil]

Haven't upgraded to Snow Leopard yet. I typically wait a while when a new OS is released. Of course there will be bugs. Of course there will be updates, patches, etc. to fix all of these little things that pop up. So I'll sit back and keep using Leopard until Snow Leopard has been out a little longer, then I'll upgrade. It's not like I NEED to use the new OS.

 

[TheGodBen]

Apple release a buggy OS at the same time that Microsoft release a stable and polished one?

Someone had better warn Satan that a cold front is heading his way.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Well, maybe if you could read you would see how it's an issue that using a guest account deletes your regular user profile.


But, reading is over-rated anyway isn't it?

So are backups, apparently...

 

[John Picard]

Compared to Microsoft's track record with operating systems and patches, this is very, very minor. I look forward to upgrading to Snow Leopard.

 

[Scout101]

Apple isn't perfect? I'm shocked! To listen to people talking about it...

Do you think the newest Apple vs PC commercials will mention that if you log into a guest account, it deletes the main user account?

 

[kimc]

Haven't upgraded to Snow Leopard yet. I typically wait a while when a new OS is released. Of course there will be bugs. Of course there will be updates, patches, etc. to fix all of these little things that pop up. So I'll sit back and keep using Leopard until Snow Leopard has been out a little longer, then I'll upgrade. It's not like I NEED to use the new OS.

Well that sounds a heck of a lot better than "I'm still using Leopard because the Snow Leopard cd has been sitting on my desk for weeks."

 

[TheGodBen]

Compared to Microsoft's track record with operating systems and patches, this is very, very minor. I look forward to upgrading to Snow Leopard.

Minor? This is a bug which causes deletion of user data, the only bug I can think of worse than this is one which causes your computer to catch fire and burn your house down while you're asleep. If your system crashes you can reboot, if your OS degrades you can reinstall, but if you lose your user data you're in a bad place.

I feel sorry for the people that have experienced this problem and I hope they all had a recent backup, which they should do considering they only recently upgraded their OS.

 

[John Picard]

Compared to Microsoft's track record with operating systems and patches, this is very, very minor. I look forward to upgrading to Snow Leopard.

Minor? This is a bug which causes deletion of user data, the only bug I can think of worse than this is one which causes your computer to catch fire and burn your house down while you're asleep. If your system crashes you can reboot, if your OS degrades you can reinstall, but if you lose your user data you're in a bad place.

I feel sorry for the people that have experienced this problem and I hope they all had a recent backup, which they should do considering they only recently upgraded their OS.

Yes, it's minor. Not a lot of people create guest accounts on their machines in addition to their regular account. Sounds like you don't understand the complexity of the issue.

*IF* you're someone who decides to create a Guest account and use it, then your regular account gets deleted. Based on what I've been reading, that's a small minority of Mac users.

Again, compared to MS's history, this isn't bad at all.

 

[RoJoHen]

I never even knew there was such a thing as a guest account.

 

[Amaris]

Oh yeah, and it's very easy to set up. This is a major flaw, not a minor one. Deletion of data over a guest account is a glaring software issue. I don't let Microsoft get away with those, and I won't let Apple either, no matter how much I like both.

J.

 

[TheGodBen]

Yes, it's minor. Not a lot of people create guest accounts on their machines in addition to their regular account. Sounds like you don't understand the complexity of the issue.

How is this issue complex? There is a bug in the code of the operating system which deletes a user's account data. It doesn't matter if it only affects a small minority of users, for the users it does affect it is a disastrous problem. This is not minor, if it was minor it wouldn't have made it onto tech news sites, or be placed as the third story on BBC News yesterday afternoon.

*IF* you're someone who decides to create a Guest account and use it, then your regular account gets deleted. Based on what I've been reading, that's a small minority of Mac users.

My parents use the guest account for when my sister comes to visit them, and if they had been running Snow Leopard there is a possibility that all their data, including hundreds of photos and my father's music recordings, would have been lost. That would have been a very big deal for them.

Again, compared to MS's history, this isn't bad at all.

I've used Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 2000, XP, Vista and 7, I worked as Windows support for Dell and as part of the IT department in my university, and I have never come across a situation where files were lost due to Windows. Hard disk failure, yes. User error, dear gods yes. Windows? Only in a situation where a computer has crashed before the person had a chance to save what they were working on. Even in a situation where Windows gets so corrupt that it wont open you can still get at the user files by a parallel installation or running a Linux distro from a live CD.

I have no doubt that it happens to some people that Windows destroys their files, but if you can have the attitude that a major bug isn't important because it only happens to a small percentage of users then so can I.

 

[John Picard]

Yes, it's minor. Not a lot of people create guest accounts on their machines in addition to their regular account. Sounds like you don't understand the complexity of the issue.

How is this issue complex? There is a bug in the code of the operating system which deletes a user's account data. It doesn't matter if it only affects a small minority of users, for the users it does affect it is a disastrous problem. This is not minor, if it was minor it wouldn't have made it onto tech news sites, or be placed as the third story on BBC News yesterday afternoon.

*IF* you're someone who decides to create a Guest account and use it, then your regular account gets deleted. Based on what I've been reading, that's a small minority of Mac users.

My parents use the guest account for when my sister comes to visit them, and if they had been running Snow Leopard there is a possibility that all their data, including hundreds of photos and my father's music recordings, would have been lost. That would have been a very big deal for them.

Wow. After going by way of Detroit, you almost zero in on my point. You're one of the *MINORITY* of users who sets up a Guest account.

Again, compared to MS's history, this isn't bad at all.

I've used Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 2000, XP, Vista and 7, I worked as Windows support for Dell and as part of the IT department in my university, and I have never come across a situation where files were lost due to Windows. Hard disk failure, yes. User error, dear gods yes. Windows? Only in a situation where a computer has crashed before the person had a chance to save what they were working on. Even in a situation where Windows gets so corrupt that it wont open you can still get at the user files by a parallel installation or running a Linux distro from a live CD.

I have no doubt that it happens to some people that Windows destroys their files, but if you can have the attitude that a major bug isn't important because it only happens to a small percentage of users then so can I.

Don't bullshit with me. It was either DOS 4.0 or 5.0 that had the lifespan of a fruit fly. It had barely hit the market when replaced. Then, when you get into Windows, 95 was a royal PITA, unless you consider a pile of floppy diskettes for installation to be utter joy. 98 was better, but like damn near everything Microsoft produces, the user was better off to wait until SP 1 and SP2 were out. XP was something MS did very well, but again, SP1 and SP2. I notice that you conveniently left out Millennium, which was a royal piece of shit. 2000 was decent enough, but had it's own issues. Vista? Please The only people who I've ever heard report "satisfaction" with Vista were I/T types who tweaked the living shit out of it until it would actually run. Again, SERVICE PACKS after the initial load.


Oh, and while we're at it, what about the CONSTANT THREAT OF SECURITY HOLES with each system from 98 on up.

So, considering the track record of MS, this isn't *that bad* of a problem. Yes, it's serious, but not the "One point twenty-one JIGGAWATTS!!!!!!" serious you're making it out to be for every single user.

 

[Gepard]

Yes, it's minor. Not a lot of people create guest accounts on their machines in addition to their regular account. Sounds like you don't understand the complexity of the issue.

How is this issue complex? There is a bug in the code of the operating system which deletes a user's account data. It doesn't matter if it only affects a small minority of users, for the users it does affect it is a disastrous problem. This is not minor, if it was minor it wouldn't have made it onto tech news sites, or be placed as the third story on BBC News yesterday afternoon.

I agree. As a major Apple fanboy...this is a huge bug. I'm amazed anyone is trying to downplay it. It also makes me glad I haven't bothered upgrading.

 

[JonathonWally]

Vista? Please The only people who I've ever heard report "satisfaction" with Vista were I/T types who tweaked the living shit out of it until it would actually run. Again, SERVICE PACKS after the initial load.

I've used Vista since day 1 and have loved it the whole time.