Strange Permissions Problem

[DaveWT]

Since I am now using Catalina, I can no longer run 32 bit apps.

I am testing a 64 bit beta of an application I used in 32 bit form for years and have run into a strange problem... I have been back to the developer's site and read through 36 pages of feedback from others beta testing this software and not a single other person has reported seeing this problem.

I have a 2017 27"iMac and I am using the beta in my own account on the iMac and I am the administrator. My wife also has an account on the iMac and it is a standard (non-administrator) account, which has gone unused for years because she has her own MacBook Pro.

If I launch the beta app in my own account it launches but only some of the functions work, while others state I haven't got "sufficient privileges".
If I launch the same app in my wife's account it works fully. I now suspect the report of "insufficient privileges" in my case, is a red herring and is just the result of some conflict with something when I am logged into my account.

I have tried turning off all login items in my account and restarting so nothing is running, which is as close to how my wife's account would boot up as possible (I think) but still no solution.

I have been struggling with this too long and can't think past this. Can someone suggest what other differences I have overlooked between booting up in my wife's account with nothing else starting, and doing the same thing in my account?

Dave

 

[chas_m]

Make sure your wife’s account is fully logged out, and that the program was quit (not just closed) on “her side.” Was it installed there first? That might make a difference on the permissions.

When it is open on your machine, get info on the program and check how the permissions are set. Note any differences when doing the same thing with the program open in your wife’s account.

 

[DaveWT]

Chas, It was installed in my account first (where I ran into the permissions dialog when launching) and then tried from my wife's account (where it worked properly.) I think I have compared all the Security & Privacy settings in both accounts and (I think) they are identical, but it is one area I need to check again.

I feel there may be some cruft left in my account after years of updates and fear I might have to do a nuke and pave to get a clean install, but the thought of doing that boggles my mind.

At the moment it is not a huge deal to just log into her account (now unused by her) to run this program but it would be nice to resolve it properly.

 

[DaveWT]

Well, I finally broke down and did a clean install. Loaded this particular app right away before putting back much else and ran into the same problem. Very frustrated at that point to be sure. Posted again on the developer's forum and this time someone responded with a clue to where to look. I found a folder in my account had somehow gotten locked. The app could possibly want to write to that folder in some situations so I guess it checked on startup and if it found that folder locked it threw up its hands at that point whether I really intended to use it that way or not.