Troubleshooting Mac OS X 10.2.6 (#11): Username bug in Windows environments
Troubleshooting Mac OS X 10.2.6 (#11): Username bug in Windows environments
MacFixIt reader Brian Bard describes an odd bug in Mac OS X's Windows networking infrastructure that does not allows users to have login names that begin with the character "x."
"In order to fit our new Mac OS X clients into our enterprise network, the OS X short name must match the Windows short name on the password server. Company standards dictate how short names are assigned. Typically, the first initial of the first name is followed by the first seven characters of the last name (i.e., Jimmy Jonestown would be jjonesto). But, for some users (i.e., temps and consultants), an 'x' is followed by the first initial of the first name which is then followed by the first six characters of the last name (i.e., Jimmy Jonestown would be xjjonest).
Bard's problem is that if the first letter of the short name is "x" and there is more than one user (i.e., ouradmin and xjjonest) the short name text becomes garbled when viewed in the "Ownership and Permissions" pane of the Finder "Get Info" window. He writes:
"Sometimes the short name is displayed as Control and Option characters followed by '(Me)' and sometimes it is displayed as a blank line. In addition, the 'www' user may also turn into a blank line. It all depends on how many users there are and how many have 'x' or 'y' as the first character of their short names. I've tested this with 'x' and 'y' but I suspect any character after (but not including) "w" will produce this behavior.
"Everything works. You just have to guess at to whom you are assigning ownership when using the Finder's 'Get Info' window. And, FileXaminer correctly reflects your Finder choices in perfectly readable text. This simply appears to be a Finder display bug."
If you are experiencing a similar issue or know of a workaround, please drop us a line at late-breakers@macfixit.com.Resources