Misconfigured permissions in OS X can cause a variety of issues. For example, you may find that you can no longer drag files into certain folders. To repair permissions, simply launch the Disk Utility application located in /Applications/Utilities/, select your startup disk in the list on the left, and hit the "Repair Disk Permissions" button (don't bother verifying). Unfortunately, a lot of Mac users have gotten the idea that permissions repair is some essential maintenance task they needs to be performed at regular intervals, or before they make any changes to their system. In fact, permissions do not spontaneously change, and permissions repair will only do any good in rare circumstances. If you're running it at regular intervals, you're just wasting your time. Simple rule: If you're having system troubles, go ahead and run permissions repair; otherwise, leave it alone. Image