Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca!system
From: system@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (System Admin (Mike Peterson))
Subject: Re: problems with root access
Message-ID: <1991Jan31.162533.2385@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca>
Organization: University of Toronto Chemistry Department
References: <16199@sdcc6.ucsd.edu>
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 1991 16:25:33 GMT

In article <16199@sdcc6.ucsd.edu> mikulska@odin.ucsd.edu (Margaret Mikulska) writes:
>Basically, they have two servers and some diskless nodes. After the power
>failure, the sys admin can't log in as root or do 'su' (getting 'login 
>incorrect' or 'sorry'). However, everybody can log in as an ordinary user.
>Also, the ownership of files owned by root is shown by root's ID, i.e., 0,
>and not by its name 'root'. Some files 'can not be found'.
>
>Somebody suggested to me that the system might have reset the root passwd
>to the default password. I had no chance to check it this helps, but would
>this account for file ownership showing as belonging to "0" instead of
>"root" ?

Having no password would not cause this, but having no root account in
the registry would -- are you running a registry on this node, or at
least somewhere in the network? If not, you should be; if so, your node
is not making a connection to it. You should be able to 'cat' the
/etc/passwd file and see all your accounts (root will be first).

I am also assuming that a 'salvol' was done at reboot, either
automatically if rebooted in "Normal" mode (which is set by a switch
somewhere on the node), or manually if rebooted in "Service" mode.
If the node is crashing a lot, you can add

#
# Start the disk updating daemon.
#
(echo Starting /etc/update >/dev/console)
if [ -f /etc/update ]; then
	/etc/update
fi

to your /etc/rc file (just after "find orphans"), which has saved us a lot
of lost/damaged files. If the lost files are critical, and it sounds
like maybe some of them are, you may have to reload the node.
-- 
Mike Peterson, System Administrator, U/Toronto Department of Chemistry
E-mail: system@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca
Tel: (416) 978-7094                  Fax: (416) 978-8775