Eliminating a duplicate Users folder in Mac OS X

Yesterday we reported a problem with duplicate "Users" folders appearing in the top directory in Mac OS X. There are a few simple steps you can take to analyze this problem, and resolve it.

Go to the terminal and type the command "ls -li" at the top level. If the second User folder shows up here, check the type and inode numbers. If both are actual directories with the same inode number, the file system has a problem -- rebooting from the CD and running Disk First Aid may fix it. If not, then reboot in single-user console mode, and use the fsck command to fix it: "fsck -y" should do the trick.

MacFixIt reader Gene Spafford writes "Having two directory entries point to the same directory inode is a strict no-no in Unix, so fsck should fix it. [...] If they are two separate entities with different names (e.g., hidden extensions), or one is a symbolic link, then use the Unix "rm -rf" command to delete the one you don't want. Caution -- be sure to name the correct directory to delete. This may need to be done using sudo, so be especially cautious, and have a backup of the system in place just in case."

Several readers have also reported that using Alsoft's DiskWarrior 3.0 utility eliminates the second, excess Users folder.

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