how would i check to make sure my permissions are fine?????

applications > utilities > disk utility > verify permissions

also, i usually just skip the verify and do repair every time because they both take about the same amount of time and you end up getting both done at once in the event that you do have permissions that need repairing.

You can also use Onyx Utility if you like, but takes just as long. =(

MainMenu as well (great app) and free. link

Does that take just as long as the other two utilities that were mentioned? As in hours?

for me it´s faster than onyx.

Thanks, I'll take into consideration the next time I repair permissions.

thanks for your help everyone i am going to give mainmenu a try
that works great

Note that "Repair Permissions" would be better named "Reset Permissions". It resets them to their original state, which actually might not be the correct one.

Repair Permissions is fine, if you have a permission problem but it's not something you should run often like a maintenance task.

Look here: http://daringfireball.net/2006/04/repair_permissions_voodoo