Hi Brian and Kino-

It really is the logon screen that concerns me. When I first installed 10.6.4, the logon screen showed only my name and the password box. The screen now shows my name and "Other" and I have to make a selection before I see the password box. This is really no big deal, but I wonder how it got there and why I can't switch it back to the way it was.

Mike Robbins
Los Angeles


On Sep 14, 2010, at 7:14 PM, Brian Ferguson wrote:

> I too have not considered what the Guest Account means or does, until now. Snow Leopard.
> 
> Looking at System Preferences > Accounts, I have four entries:-
> Brian Ferguson - Admin [where Password & Login Items are available. Also Login Options.]
> Brian .me - Admin [if needed]
> test - Admin [if ever I needed it] and
> 
> Guest Account - and the permitted-items change depending on what selections you make, from:
>   1. Allow guests to log in to this computer - [On] or [Off]
>   2. Allow guests to log in to this computer - [On] or [Off]
> with the four alternatives yielding:
>   * Login, Sharing - 1 On, 2 On
>   * Sharing Only - 1 Off, 2 On [my normal selection]
>   * Login Only - 1 On, 2 Off
>   * Disabled - 1 Off, 2 Off.
> 
> Under the Accounts List, the two boxes [+][-] also change. 
> With either My Account or Guest Account selected, the [-] button is greyed-out, therefore I assume these Accounts cannot be removed.
> 
> In any case, why delete the Guest Account?
> It does nothing subversive.
> 
> ------------------------
> Regards from brianF
> ===============
> 
> On 14/09/2010, at 6:22 PM, Doug Browne wrote:
> 
>> A terminology problem here Kino, which is my mistake. Since my computer is normally only used by me, I have set automatic login. Syst Prefs -  Accounts shows my name and administrator. Under that is "Guest Account Disabled", as you say. I am sure this is default behaviour of OS 10.6.4.
>> 
>> The login window, which I do not normally see, is similar to yours.
>> 
>> As I am the only user, I do not need the Shared folder:   Macintosh HD - Users - Shared. 
>> But this is another thing that always reappears after trashing.
>> 
>> Doug
>> 
>> On 14 Sep 2010, at 08:54, Kino wrote:
>> 
>>> On Sep 14, 2010, at 3:45 PM, Doug Browne wrote:
>>> 
>>>> I never thought about it before, but I also have 'Guest Account Disabled' under my name.
>>>> I have just run Kino's instructions below, but after a restart 'Guest Account Disabled' was still there.
>>> 
>>> Do you mean you see it in the login window? Mine looks like this.
>>> <http://images.macworld.com/images/legacy/2006/08/images/content/login2.png>
>>> 
>>> If it is in the Accounts System pref that you see "Guest Account Disabled", it is normal.
>>> <http://db.tidbits.com/resources/2009-10/Disable-guest-account.png>
>>> 
>>> But I don't know for sure if the login window's showing "Guest Account Disabled" is really odd or not. Perhaps that is the default behaviour for those who have enabled just a single account? Since 10.6.4, maybe. I'm and have been running my Macs always with two or more accounts enabled and I have never seen the login window of anyone else's Mac.
>>> 
>>> Also perhaps whether you have /Users/Guest or not would make a difference. If you have disabled Guest Account, I think you can trash it (you will be asked to enter your admin password) and empty the trash safely.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Kino