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From: dan@gacvx2.gac.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: Unix `w' command not working
Message-ID: <1991Feb27.172635.132@gacvx2.gac.edu>
Date: 27 Feb 91 23:26:35 GMT
References: <91057.115121SLVQC@CUNYVM.BITNET> <1367@toaster.SFSU.EDU>
Organization: Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota
Lines: 34

In article <1367@toaster.SFSU.EDU>, eps@toaster.SFSU.EDU (Eric P. Scott) writes:
> In article <91057.115121SLVQC@CUNYVM.BITNET> SLVQC@CUNYVM.BITNET
> 	(Salvatore Saieva) writes:
>>I recently installed NeXTStep v2.0 and the Unix `w' command no
>>longer works. (It used to work under v1.0.) Whenever I try to run
>>w I get the message ``No namelist''. Does anyone know what this
>>message means? Any ideas why it doesn't work?
> 
> w attempts to get a namelist from /mach--this is normally a
> symbolic link to the $BOOTFILE metalink.  If you've booted
> from od or sd you shouldn't have any problems (unless you
> mucked with the system files).  If you've booted from en or
> tp the metalink may be invalid--but since you had it working
> under 1.0, I'm inclined to rule this out.
> 
> 					-=EPS=-

I have the same problem on netboot clients.  "w" and "netstat" return "No
namelist" programs like "monitor" don't work either.  It worked under 0.8 and
0.9.  It quit when I upgraded to 1.0.  I still see the problem on 2.0.  I was
told that this is due to NFS maps the UID of root to -1 so that it does not
have the same abilities on the network file system as it would on a local file
system.  The documentation (on-line I think) for 1.0 mentioned a patch that
could be entered into the kernal using 'adb' that would give root UID 0 on the
network file systems.  I was not able to get 'adb' to work on 1.0, and NeXT
did not recommend the patch.  It bothers me that "netstat" does not work,
because it comes in handy.  All works correctly on the servers, only the
netboot clients show the problem.

-- 
Dan Boehlke                    Internet:  dan@gac.edu
Campus Network Manager         BITNET:    dan@gacvax1.bitnet
Gustavus Adolphus College
St. Peter, MN 56082 USA        Phone:     (507)933-7596