If you have a Mac with Snow Leopard, logging into Guest account can cause loss of ALL personal data

[Statistical]

Apple Acknowledges Snow Leopard Bug

The flaw, which may delete personal data, is related to a change in the way the operating system handles guest accounts. ... According to Apple discussion forums, the problem is related to a change in the way Snow Leopard handles guest accounts. Users who upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard with guest account enabled have found that opening the guest account in Leopard can destroy personal data.

"I accidentally clicked on my guest account and after I logged out, my documents folder was gone," one users said on the Snow Leopard forum. "Not only did Snow Leopard wipe out all of my documents, my email accounts, my address book, it broke the dynamic spell checker in Yahoo Messenger, caused random problems with Safari, InDesign, and others."

How many users have been affected by the bug is not known. However, the flaw is the latest of many problems that have been reported since Apple released Snow Leopard, officially called Mac OS X v10.6, Aug. 28. While Apple pitched Snow Leopard as a turnkey upgrade from Leopard, more than 100 existing Mac applications, games and software utilities were not fully compatible.


No idea when a patch is coming but don't log into Guest account if you have upgraded from a previous version of OS X to Snow Leopard.

[Swamp Rat]

1. Thanks for the update

They better fix this ASAP, since the next crop of iMacs and MacBooks are due for release very soon (maybe next week).

BBC: "Data losses in Snow Leopard bug"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8304229.stm

Now to the Apple message boards....

[NV Whino]

2. Thanks for the heads up.

[Swamp Rat]

3. "Mac OS X 10.6.2 beta fixes Guest account data-munching bug"

Sat, 10/17/2009

Apple has seeded developers with a new build of Mac OS X 10.6.2, the next major update for Snow Leopard, in which it has addressed the nasty Guest account data-destroying bug, reports of which have been in a flurry in recent weeks.

Apple conceded the existence of this bug earlier this week, after multiple reports complained of its existence following our earlier report the prior week.

The seed is said to contain just one issue and to carry two sets of release notes, suggesting the code’s on the fast-track to release, once successful testing is completed.

The software also promised reliability improvements across Apple apps, including iWork, iLife, Aperture, Final Cut Studio, MobileMe, iDisk, and Safari.

(snip)

http://www.9to5mac.com/apple_fixes_guest_bug_in_latest_OSX_beta

[gmoney]

4. Swell... thanks for the heads up.

I didn't upgrade at work yet, but my machine at home is running 10.6... finally Canon issued a driver for my printer at least!

[Jamastiene]

5. I thought Macs were so perfect that they shit gold nuggets.

So perfect, in fact, that you don't even need a Recycle Bin. All you have to do to delete a file from a Mac is get Tabitha to wiggle her little nose and poof, it perfectly disappears.
I thought Macs were so perfect you don't even need a mouse. All you have to do is think "Open File" and it complies obediently without fail, every.single.time.

:P














:evilgrin:











:hide:

I'm just joking. I actually would like to get a Mac laptop one day. :P

[Billy Burnett]

6. Snow Leopard is one of the buggiest OSs Mac has ever released.

Its killing the pro audio users. So much so that many are reverting back to the more stable less buggy Leopard, some (like me) even kicking it back to Tiger (10.4.11). The Logic Pro/Studio forums are in meltdown mode. Logic Pro ver9 is a disaster.

[Swamp Rat]

7. Tiger 10.4.11 user here.

Not many stability problems, though I have had sleep issues with my M-Audio USB interface.

The only reason I bought Snow Leopard was to fool around with hacintosh/x86-type projects.

[Billy Burnett]

9. I reverted back to Logic 8. L9 has many exciting new features, but ...

... most of these new features are bugs that crash the program or render it unusable. Many users can't even load the demo projects included in the L9 package because of various core spiking and overload issues. I gave up debugging and went back to the old and stable systems.

Seriously bummed lifelong Mac devotee here. :(

[Ezlivin]

13. Agreed

I've been using Macs since 1985 and I have never have had as many problems with a "simple" OS upgrade.

I have an Epson 2200 and did a thorough color calibration (with the i1 system) of it and the Apple 30" monitor I use. Photos printed from Aperture/Photoshop were exactly what I wanted and the color workflow was perfect.

Then I upgraded to Snow Leopard. The Mac couldn't even "see" the Epson 2200 any longer and worse, there were no longer any native drivers for the printer. (If you look in the Apple support forums you'll see several threads concerning the loss of native drivers and the unsuitable replacement: Gutenprint drivers.)

The solution I ended up with involved dedicating another hard drive to Aperture/Photoshop, installing a fully updated Leopard OS and copying over all of the custom ColorSync profiles. Now I can reboot from the other drive, the OS "sees" the Epson 2200 and I can print color-correct prints. It works, but it's a PITA.

I believe Apple is modifying the OS so that it can run on a wide variety of devices. All I really want is for it to run on my MacPro.

[liberalmuse]

8. The info is much appreciated.

Yikes! I don't have a guest account yet, but I just upgraded to a new computer w/Snow Leopard and that's good to know. I'll have to download the beta fix as suggested in this thread.

[WonderGrunion]

10. I see all 5 DU Apple users have responded

Your job here is finished.

Just kidding. I'm an ass.

[Statistical]

11. Well I don't even have a Mac but I bought one for my wife so that article caught my eye.

[Kablooie]

12. Couldn't that cause a lawsuit?

[im1013]

14. After years of windows abuse....

I've never been one to upgrade to the latest & greatest OS as
soon as it comes out.
I guess I'm lazy... I'll just keep using Leopard & let other, more impatient
people, be the guinea pigs!