2 machines, 2 different problems

[John McGibney]

I have 2 problems with OS-X 10.3.3

Machine 1 a G4 tower:
I can't access the root level on the startup drive. It's owned by System and
Admin users can read only. All other machines I have running X allow Admin
users read/write privileges. This means some installers don't work because
they can't access the root level.

This is the only machine with this problem. The other machines I have access
to allow Admin users read/write access. I'm sure I'll have to do some
Terminal command to fix it as the normal maintenance/repair procedures
didn't work. All machines are running 10.3.3 with the latest patches from
Apple.


Machine 2 G4 PowerBook:
The windows don't seem to remember the Icon placement nor settings to keep
arranged by name. The global settings for Icon view are "Keep arranged by
name" this setting doesn't change. But when the Applications folder and
Utilities folder are opened they revert to "this window only settings and
the icons, window size, etc. are all messed up. Window placement is off etc.
If I set window view options back to global they stay for a while, usually
the next reboot. If I set the "This window only" settings to keep...by name
placement will also foul up after a while.

Either way settings don't seem to keep after a restart. I've run the usual
maintenance routines on the PB but it didn¹t help. Nor did deleting the
invisible .DS_store files inside each folder. I know there was a preference
file to delete to cure this oddity but when I read the articles I didn't
have the problem. Of course I didn't save the info nor remember where I read
it. Anybody know the cure?

TIA
John