Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!rutgers!att!cbnewsm!szirin
From: szirin@cbnewsm.ATT.COM (seth.zirin)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: filenames with a '/'  -- help
Message-ID: <8391@cbnewsm.ATT.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 90 18:20:31 GMT
References: <646@warlock.UUCP>
Reply-To: szirin@cbnewsm.ATT.COM
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 35

In article <646@warlock.UUCP> gregb@dowjone.UUCP (Gregory S. Baber) writes:
>and then took the NeXT off the network. Some of the files that were
>on the Mac had a '/' as part of the actual filename. How do I delete
>these from the NeXT now without reconnecting to the network? When I
>try to delete the files by hand, the shell responds with "file does
>not exist" because it interprets the '/' as a directory indicator.

You have several options:

1) reformat the disk (JUST KIDDING!!) :-)

2) fsck the filesystem.  some versions of fsck will not permit illegal
   characters in names.  if your version of fsck cannot fix it, complain
   to your vendor about the bug in their fsck.

3) use fsdb to locate and edit the disk block that contains the filename
   with the '/'.  Change the '/' to a more palatable character.
   WARNING: this is not for the weak-hearted!

4) copy everything else from the parent directory to a safe spot and
   iclear or unlink the parent directory and run fsck.  if the bad
   name is a file (as opposed to a subdirectory), fsck will copy it
   to the lost+found and give it a civilized name.  if you have a
   directory tree of bad subdirectory names, this will become a
   recursive process.

the above procedures assume that the filesystem is mounted/unmounted
appropriately.  when you're all done and you haven't roached the whole
filesystem or the entire disk, hold your head high; you've earned one
star towards becoming a wizard.

discussion of the other stars should be referred to /dev/null as we just
finished that topic.

Seth Zirin