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TICKET ARCHIVE -> keychain

Hisako - Feb 15, 2008 - 3:35 pm

how to recover keychain

earthsaver - Feb 15, 2008 - 8:01 pm

Is it lost or broken? Keychain First Aid is in the Keychain menu for the latter. For the former, you probably need a backup. It's normally stored in ~/Library/Keychains.

- Ben

Hisako - Feb 17, 2008 - 2:20 am

Thank you for your help. I'm currently attempting the following;
Keychains
Keychains are located in your ~/Library/Keychains/ folder. To get to this file in the Finder, choose Home from the Go menu. Open the Library folder, then open the Keychains folder.

Tip: Before you back up your keychains, use Keychain First Aid to repair any issues.

To back up: Make copies of your keychain files in a different location by Option-dragging each file to a desired location. Do not remove the originals. You can also use the Finder to create an archive as described in the Safari Bookmarks section, above.

To restore:
In the Finder, from the Go menu, choose Utilities.
Open Keychain Access.
From the Edit menu, choose Keychain List. A dialog appears, listing all keychain files.
Deselect the keychains that you wish to restore, then click OK.
Quit Keychain Access.
Move your keychain back up files back to ~/Library/Keychains/.
Open Keychain Access again.
From the Edit menu, choose Keychain List.
Select the keychains that you wish to use, then click OK.

I've already attempted it once but will try again.
Cheers Nick

earthsaver - Feb 17, 2008 - 9:39 am

I need more information than the fact that you attempted this process. Did Keychain First Aid find/fix any problems? I also don't understand the point of this restoration process. Most of my keychains are already unchecked and the checkbox has something to do with sharing among users. I would wonder what happens when you back up a keychain, delete the original, and then open Keychain Access, select File > Add Keychain, and choose the backup copy.

If it comes down to full corruption, how much is in your keychain that you don't know or that would be hard to retrieve/rebuild?

Hisako - Feb 18, 2008 - 2:35 am

I ran keychain first aid after deleting my old keychain with no problems. I don't have a backup copy that is listed as such. I backed up the system to a a portable firewire drive. I can eventually retrieve the previous info. The problem for me is that this is the 3rd time I've lost the contents of my keychain & it would go better if I knew how to reinstall the backup. Thanks for your patience

Hisako - Feb 18, 2008 - 2:35 am

I ran keychain first aid after deleting my old keychain with no problems. I don't have a backup copy that is listed as such. I backed up the system to a a portable firewire drive. I can eventually retrieve the previous info. The problem for me is that this is the 3rd time I've lost the contents of my keychain & it would go better if I knew how to reinstall the backup. Thanks for your patience

earthsaver - Feb 18, 2008 - 5:50 am

Outside of choosing your backup via Add Keychain in Keychain Access, I'm not sure what else to suggest. If you've repeatedly over time lost the contents of your keychain, there must be a greater problem happening with the system. I think I'll reopen your question to seek ideas from other techs.

Hisako - Feb 18, 2008 - 1:50 pm

Aloha from Kona
Thanks. I appreciate your help. I've owned & worked with macs since I lived in Tokyo starting around 1990 & have never been stuck like this, over & over again.
Cheers

TechSupport - Feb 21, 2008 - 2:00 pm

We apologize for not being able to resolve the issue you asked of us. It is the absolute worst case scenario for us to do this. In our review of why this happens, it generally is related to either the particular issue being addressed or frequently, incomplete or incorrect information provided. We hope by moving your request to the public forums that you will be able to get a solution without leaving you empty handed.

Your ticket has been closed with our support team. Your request has just been posted to Mac OS X System & Mac Software and is available for your viewing at:

http://macosx.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298650

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