Relocated Items

[John Hill]

An alias to a Relocated Items folder has appeared on my desktop. It contains a
pdf file that says "During the last macOS upgrade or file migration, some of
your files couldn’t be moved to their new locations. This folder contains
these files".

It also contains a 3KB file "group.system_default" which apparently was
originally located in Configuration/private/etc, but I've no idea where
Configuration is located - probably somewhere hidden from me!

A quick look in this file with BBEdit suggests that it is related to the fact
that I have only one User.

The original of the alias is in a Shared folder in the Users folder,
previously unnoticed by me, that appears to have been created 1 Jan 2020 and
last modified on 27 April 2021. It also contains two folders which between
them contain no files, but that is by the way.

My question is this: What, if anything, should I do about this? I am very
reluctant to meddle with things I do not understand. Can I delete either the
alias or the original folder?

John.

--
Classic computing: Computers do what you tell them to do, not what you want
them to do.
Modern computing: Computers do what they want to do, no matter what you tell
them to do.

[RJH]

On 1 May 2021 at 08:02:22 BST, "John Hill" <watco...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

> An alias to a Relocated Items folder has appeared on my desktop. It contains
> a
> pdf file that says "During the last macOS upgrade or file migration, some of
> your files couldn’t be moved to their new locations. This folder contains
> these files".
>
> It also contains a 3KB file "group.system_default" which apparently was
> originally located in Configuration/private/etc, but I've no idea where
> Configuration is located - probably somewhere hidden from me!
>
> A quick look in this file with BBEdit suggests that it is related to the fact
> that I have only one User.
>
> The original of the alias is in a Shared folder in the Users folder,
> previously unnoticed by me, that appears to have been created 1 Jan 2020 and
> last modified on 27 April 2021. It also contains two folders which between
> them contain no files, but that is by the way.
>
> My question is this: What, if anything, should I do about this? I am very
> reluctant to meddle with things I do not understand. Can I delete either the
> alias or the original folder?
>

I'd be interested too - have the same sort of thing, with a file
created/modified 01/01/20 named 'master.passwd.system_default'.

There is a document in the folder that suggests comparing the default and
changed files in the folder. But when I try to change permissions to view I'm
told 'The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have the necessary
permission'.

--
Cheers, Rob

[John Hill]

On 1 May 2021 at 08:26:16 BST, "Alan B"
<alanrich...@nospamgmail.com.here> wrote:

> John Hill <watco...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>> An alias to a Relocated Items folder has appeared on my desktop. It
>> contains a
>> pdf file that says "During the last macOS upgrade or file migration, some of
>> your files couldn’t be moved to their new locations. This folder contains
>> these files".
>>
>> It also contains a 3KB file "group.system_default" which apparently was
>> originally located in Configuration/private/etc, but I've no idea where
>> Configuration is located - probably somewhere hidden from me!
>>
>> A quick look in this file with BBEdit suggests that it is related to the
>> fact
>> that I have only one User.
>>
>> The original of the alias is in a Shared folder in the Users folder,
>> previously unnoticed by me, that appears to have been created 1 Jan 2020 and
>> last modified on 27 April 2021. It also contains two folders which between
>> them contain no files, but that is by the way.
>>
>> My question is this: What, if anything, should I do about this? I am very
>> reluctant to meddle with things I do not understand. Can I delete either the
>> alias or the original folder?
>

> I just delete the files/folders referenced and the alias given that I can
> always restore it from a TM backup if things go legs up. I’ve yet to
> encounter any problems though.

I opened group_system_default with BBEdit and found:

# Note that this file is consulted directly only when the system is running
# in single-user mode. At other times this information is provided by
# Open Directory.

There is neither group_system_default nor Open Directory in /etc. Perhaps it
is disused?

John.

--
Frustra fit per plura, quod potest fieri per pauciora - William of Occam

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

On 1 May 2021 at 08:02:22 BST, "John Hill" <watco...@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:

> An alias to a Relocated Items folder has appeared on my desktop. It contains a
> pdf file that says "During the last macOS upgrade or file migration, some of
> your files couldn’t be moved to their new locations. This folder contains
> these files".
>
> It also contains a 3KB file "group.system_default" which apparently was
> originally located in Configuration/private/etc, but I've no idea where
> Configuration is located - probably somewhere hidden from me!

I check those relocated item folders for anything of mine, and if not
then it's going to be something the installer has moved because it's no
longer wanted (or thinks I've modified it at some point since 2005,
which is how long I've been using Migration Assistant!). I don't want
it, the system doesn't want it, so I delete it.

Cheers - Jaimie
--
The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person
doing it.

[John Hill]

On 1 May 2021 at 10:01:13 BST, "Alan B"

> There’s an article on MacRumors forums about it. Make of it what you will!
>
>
> <https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/newly-assigned-objects-nosync-folder-on-desktop-after-updating-to-11-3.2293368/>

Seems quite common. Also, it seems innocuous, a quirk of a system update; the
date is consistent.

Since Big Sur 11.3 (20E232) seems to be perfectly happy, I'll do nothing. In
fact since I have only the one User (Guest is disabled apart from file
sharing) I see no need for a shared folder at all. I did invoke a User briefly
about the time it was created and then removed it. Perhaps it popped into
existence then.

John.

--
Say less than you know, have more than you show.

[John Hill]

On 1 May 2021 at 12:55:26 BST, "Jaimie Vandenbergh"

<jai...@usually.sessile.org> wrote:

> On 1 May 2021 at 08:02:22 BST, "John Hill" <watco...@yahoo.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
>> An alias to a Relocated Items folder has appeared on my desktop. It
>> contains a
>> pdf file that says "During the last macOS upgrade or file migration, some of
>> your files couldn’t be moved to their new locations. This folder contains
>> these files".
>>
>> It also contains a 3KB file "group.system_default" which apparently was
>> originally located in Configuration/private/etc, but I've no idea where
>> Configuration is located - probably somewhere hidden from me!
>
> I check those relocated item folders for anything of mine, and if not
> then it's going to be something the installer has moved because it's no
> longer wanted (or thinks I've modified it at some point since 2005,
> which is how long I've been using Migration Assistant!). I don't want
> it, the system doesn't want it, so I delete it.

I see no need for a Shared folder at all; I may try deleting it on the grounds
that the system will replace it if it is needed. Apart from the Relocated
Items.nosync folder it contains no files anyway.

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

On 1 May 2021 at 13:34:44 BST, "John Hill" <watco...@yahoo.co.uk>

wrote:

> On 1 May 2021 at 12:55:26 BST, "Jaimie Vandenbergh"
> <jai...@usually.sessile.org> wrote:
>
>> On 1 May 2021 at 08:02:22 BST, "John Hill" <watco...@yahoo.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> An alias to a Relocated Items folder has appeared on my desktop. It
>>> contains a
>>> pdf file that says "During the last macOS upgrade or file migration, some of
>>> your files couldn’t be moved to their new locations. This folder contains
>>> these files".
>>>
>>> It also contains a 3KB file "group.system_default" which apparently was
>>> originally located in Configuration/private/etc, but I've no idea where
>>> Configuration is located - probably somewhere hidden from me!
>>
>> I check those relocated item folders for anything of mine, and if not
>> then it's going to be something the installer has moved because it's no
>> longer wanted (or thinks I've modified it at some point since 2005,
>> which is how long I've been using Migration Assistant!). I don't want
>> it, the system doesn't want it, so I delete it.
>
> I see no need for a Shared folder at all; I may try deleting it on the grounds
> that the system will replace it if it is needed. Apart from the Relocated
> Items.nosync folder it contains no files anyway.

You can't delete it in Big Sur, I forget for older versions.

Various apps stick data into /Users/Shared, I wouldn't greatly recommend
deleting its contents without checking through the Library folder for
anything you care about.

Cheers - Jaimie
--
Sent from my SGI Onyx

[John Hill]

On 1 May 2021 at 21:26:50 BST, "Jaimie Vandenbergh"

It contains, apart from Relocated Items, a folder called Canon Inkjet Extended
Survey Program and a folder called Library. The first is empty; the second
contains a folder called Application Support. This contains a further folder
called Graphic Converter, which is also empty.

However, I will take your advice and leave well alone. But I take it amiss
that the system leaves visible folders around with neither leave nor
explanation. They are keen enough to conceal the Library folder in my User
folder.

John.

--
An infinitely complex system can fail in an infinite number of ways.

[John Hill]

Some added information.

I did the update to 11.3.1 this morning, while I was having breakfast. On a
whim, I had a look at the Relocated Items alias on my Desktop. It was not
changed, but it now points to a new Relocated Items folder, time stamped Today
at 07:23, and containing a sequence of folders time stamped for the same time
or a minute before. Down at the bottom, in the folder "etc", is a file
"group.system_default", time stamped 1 January 2020.

The Shared folder containing Relocated Items now contains a folder called
Previously Relocated Items, which appears to be unchanged apart from the name.
In its "etc" folder there is also a copy of "group.system_default" apparently
identical to the one in Relocated Items. Time stamps of all folders are as
before.

Evidently the new update has put it all there. Since I had not changed
anything in the real "etc" folder (or anywhere else to do with this
discussion), I wonder where it has come from? And is this going to happen with
every system update?

The sig chosen by Usenapp for this posting seems particularly appropriate!

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

On 4 May 2021 at 11:48:14 BST, "John Hill" <watco...@yahoo.co.uk>

Maybe. Perhaps that file isn't on an 'these things can just be replaced
quietly' list.

> The sig chosen by Usenapp for this posting seems particularly appropriate!
>
> John.
>
> --
> Classic computing: Computers do what you tell them to do, not what you want
> them to do.
> Modern computing: Computers do what they want to do, no matter what you tell
> them to do.

As someone who's been titting around with computers in the 1981-1988
region lately, hahahahahhahahahaaahaaa no, no they don't do what you
tell them to. And some of the reasons they don't are violently obscure.

Perhaps if you go back to abacuses they might. Until they fall over and
lose your place.

Cheers - Jaimie
--
[Chlorine trifluoride] is also hypergolic with such things as
cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos,
sand, and water -- with which it reacts explosively.
- "Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants", J D
Clarke

[John Hill]

On 4 May 2021 at 11:54:59 BST, "Jaimie Vandenbergh"

Well, the point to this old classic was that if you got a program wrong then
the computer did exactly what the program told it to do, not what you
actually intended. A bit trite, perhaps, but I did a lot of programming around
that time.

Sometimes I wish I still had Pascal on my Mac. I never had a need to learn
Swift.

[nospam]

In article <s6r9se$lc6$1...@dont-email.me>, John Hill

<watco...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

> Sometimes I wish I still had Pascal on my Mac.

<https://www.freepascal.org>

> I never had a need to learn
> Swift.

you would if you wanted to write apps, and it's a much, much better
language than pascal.

[David Brooks]

On 05/05/2021 06:28, Alan B wrote:
> John Hill <watco...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>

> [snip]

>
>> Well, the point to this old classic was that if you got a program wrong then
>> the computer did exactly what the program told it to do, not what you
>> actually intended. A bit trite, perhaps, but I did a lot of programming around
>> that time.
>>
>> Sometimes I wish I still had Pascal on my Mac. I never had a need to learn
>

> Pascal? That was being used in the 70’s I recall. In my brief programming
> career I used mainly CORAL-66 on such diverse platforms as PDP-11. ICL
> 1904, Ferranti and GEC h/w. All before O—O programming techniques took off.

Might you guys understand this?

https://objective-see.com/blog/blog_0x64.html

Fascinating to me!

[John Hill]

On 5 May 2021 at 06:28:02 BST, "Alan B"

<alanrich...@nospamgmail.com.here> wrote:

> John Hill <watco...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
> [snip]
>

>> Well, the point to this old classic was that if you got a program wrong then
>> the computer did exactly what the program told it to do, not what you
>> actually intended. A bit trite, perhaps, but I did a lot of programming
>> around
>> that time.
>>
>> Sometimes I wish I still had Pascal on my Mac. I never had a need to learn
>

> Pascal? That was being used in the 70’s I recall. In my brief programming
> career I used mainly CORAL-66 on such diverse platforms as PDP-11. ICL
> 1904, Ferranti and GEC h/w. All before O—O programming techniques took off.

So you used CORAL66 too! Not many of us can say that.

J

--
God made the integers; all else is the work of man.

[Phil Taylor]

On 4 May 2021 at 12:06:54 BST, "John Hill" <watco...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> Sometimes I wish I still had Pascal on my Mac. I never had a need to learn
> Swift.

You can still have it: <https://www.freepascal.org/>

Not sure if it yet supports the newer Macs, but I'm still using it on my MBP
under Mojave.

Phil Taylor

[John Hill]

Interesting, I'll bear that in mind. But thinking about it, what real need do
I have for it? Last thing I wrote was a simulation of Bingo, would you
believe! That was before Snow Leopard killed it.

[John Hill]

On 7 May 2021 at 07:19:59 BST, "Alan B"

<alanrich...@nospamgmail.com.here> wrote:

> John Hill <watco...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>> On 5 May 2021 at 06:28:02 BST, "Alan B"
>> <alanrich...@nospamgmail.com.here> wrote:
>>
>>> John Hill <watco...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>> [snip]
>>>
>>>> Well, the point to this old classic was that if you got a program wrong then
>>>> the computer did exactly what the program told it to do, not what you
>>>> actually intended. A bit trite, perhaps, but I did a lot of programming
>>>> around
>>>> that time.
>>>>
>>>> Sometimes I wish I still had Pascal on my Mac. I never had a need to learn
>>>
>>> Pascal? That was being used in the 70’s I recall. In my brief programming
>>> career I used mainly CORAL-66 on such diverse platforms as PDP-11. ICL
>>> 1904, Ferranti and GEC h/w. All before O—O programming techniques took off.
>>
>> So you used CORAL66 too! Not many of us can say that.
>

> I guess you knew George, then ;-)
>
> <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEORGE_(operating_system)>

Curiously, no. The Modular One (a very obscure computer), a VAX and IIRC
another, but can't remember what.