Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
Miquel van Smoorenburg wrote: In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Ken Heard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Daniel B. wrote: That looks like you mistyped "defaults" as "drfaults" in your /etc/fstab file. I was well aware that I mistyped "defaults" as my original post indicated. I was also aware that this error caused the root directory to be mounted read-only. Also as my original post indicated, my first query was how to change the mount to read-write without having to reinstall the whole operating system. Simply specify both the directory _and_ the device on the command line, in that case mount doesn't read fstab. Eg something like: mount -n -o remount,rw /dev/sda1 / Yes, but mount reads mtab. Mtab showed / as already mounted; consequently the mount command failed. I had to use the script file furnished by Almut Behrens in his post to the list of 2006-01-17 05:41 UTC -- Ken Heard Research Associate Museum Studies Program University of Toronto, Canada -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Ken Heard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Daniel B. wrote: > >> That looks like you mistyped "defaults" as "drfaults" in your >> /etc/fstab file. > > I was well aware that I mistyped "defaults" as my original post >indicated. I was also aware that this error caused the root directory >to be mounted read-only. Also as my original post indicated, my first >query was how to change the mount to read-write without having to >reinstall the whole operating system. Simply specify both the directory _and_ the device on the command line, in that case mount doesn't read fstab. Eg something like: mount -n -o remount,rw /dev/sda1 / Mike. -- Freedom is no longer a problem. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
On Wed, Jan 18, 2006 at 05:56:31PM -0500, Ken Heard wrote: > Almut Behrens wrote: > > >Copy /etc/fstab to /tmp/fstab and fix your "drfaults" typo in there. > > I copied /etc/fstab to /var/fstab and fixed the typ. > > >Then patch a temporary copy of /bin/mount and libc.so to use /tmp/fstab > >instead of /etc/fstab. To do so, create this little script, make it > >executable, and run it as root: > > Because I used /var instead of /tmp I modified your script as > follows: > > >#!/bin/bash #You suggested /bin/sh > > > >FSTAB=/var/fstab # var changed from tmp > >LIBC=/lib/libc.so.6 > > > >perl -pe "s|/etc/fstab|$FSTAB|g" $LIBC >/var/libc.so.6 # var changed > >from tmp > >perl -pe "s|/etc/fstab|$FSTAB|g" /bin/mount >/var/mount # ditto > >chmod +x /var/mount # ditto > >export LD_PRELOAD=/var/libc.so.6 # ditto > >/var/mount -n -o remount,rw / The modifications look okay. (Just make sure there's nothing after the "#!/bin/bash" in the first line -- though I presume you've appended that comment just in this post here... BTW, just FYI, /bin/sh and /bin/bash should both work, as (on linux) /bin/sh is just a link to /bin/bash, i.e. they're the same program. The only difference is that if bash is called as "sh" it mimics the behavior of a regular bourne shell. This shouldn't matter here, though, as there's nothing bash-specific in the script...) > > I saved this script as /var/fixfstab, made it executable and -- as > root and in /var -- ran ./fixfstab. The following was returned: > > : bad interpreter: No such file or directory Typically, you'd get this error, if you create the file on Windows and then copy it over to linux. The problem is the different line ending conventions (\n on Linux, and \r\n on Windows), which is not always immediately evident -- unless you already know what to look for. Due to this, there'd be a trailing \r at the end of the interpreter name, i.e. the system is trying to find a program "/bin/bash\r", which of course doesn't exist... To check, you could do a "less -u /var/fixfstab"; if you have the above problem, you'd see ^M (= \r = carriage return) at the end of the lines. To fix it, run the following command perl -i -pe 's/\r//g' /var/fixfstab and then try again... (and, if it still doesn't work, report back here). Almut -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
Mike McCarty wrote: I think the easiest would be to use a LiveCD, like KNOPPIX, and edit the fstab that way. That is impossible for the reasons stated in my post of 2006-01-16 19:42 EST. -- Ken Heard Research Associate Museum Studies Program University of Toronto, Canada -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
Almut Behrens wrote: Copy /etc/fstab to /tmp/fstab and fix your "drfaults" typo in there. I copied /etc/fstab to /var/fstab and fixed the typ. Then patch a temporary copy of /bin/mount and libc.so to use /tmp/fstab instead of /etc/fstab. To do so, create this little script, make it executable, and run it as root: Because I used /var instead of /tmp I modified your script as follows: #!/bin/bash #You suggested /bin/sh FSTAB=/var/fstab# var changed from tmp LIBC=/lib/libc.so.6 perl -pe "s|/etc/fstab|$FSTAB|g" $LIBC >/var/libc.so.6 # var changed from tmp perl -pe "s|/etc/fstab|$FSTAB|g" /bin/mount >/var/mount# ditto chmod +x /var/mount # ditto export LD_PRELOAD=/var/libc.so.6# ditto /var/mount -n -o remount,rw / I saved this script as /var/fixfstab, made it executable and -- as root and in /var -- ran ./fixfstab. The following was returned: : bad interpreter: No such file or directory By running find I discovered that /lib/libc.so.6 is linked to /lib/libc-2.3.2.so. Then tried to read the variables to be created by the script: $FSTAB and $LIBC. Both returned nul. I next entered the FSTAB variable directly (FSTAB=/var/fstab) and then ran $FSTAB, which returned -bash: /var/fstab: permission denied. That message confused me, as I have been working as root all along and both fstab and fixfstab are both root files. Fstab is rw, and fixstab is rwx. Is this information helpful in figuring why the script does not work? I understand what the script is supposed to do, but I have no knowldege of perl. -- Ken Heard -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
Mike writes: > I think the easiest would be to use a LiveCD, like KNOPPIX, and edit the > fstab that way. Just remount the partition. man mount -- John Hasler -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
Ken Heard wrote:
Daniel B. wrote:
That looks like you mistyped "defaults" as "drfaults" in your
/etc/fstab file.
I was well aware that I mistyped "defaults" as my original post
indicated. I was also aware that this error caused the root directory
to be mounted read-only. Also as my original post indicated, my first
query was how to change the mount to read-write without having to
reinstall the whole operating system.
Regards,
I think the easiest would be to use a LiveCD, like KNOPPIX,
and edit the fstab that way.
Mike
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This message made from 100% recycled bits.
You have found the bank of Larn.
I can explain it for you, but I can't understand it for you.
I speak only for myself, and I am unanimous in that!
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Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
Daniel B. wrote: That looks like you mistyped "defaults" as "drfaults" in your /etc/fstab file. I was well aware that I mistyped "defaults" as my original post indicated. I was also aware that this error caused the root directory to be mounted read-only. Also as my original post indicated, my first query was how to change the mount to read-write without having to reinstall the whole operating system. Regards, -- Ken Heard -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
Ken Heard wrote: ... I first tried Steve Kemp's suggestion, because it was the simpler, as it did not require use of a live CDROM. He warned me that the command "mount -n -o remount,rw /" might not work. It didn't. It returned EXT3-fs: Unrecognized mount option "drfaults" or missing value mount: / not mounted already, or bad option That looks like you mistyped "defaults" as "drfaults" in your /etc/fstab file. Daniel -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
On Mon, Jan 16, 2006 at 07:42:38PM -0500, Ken Heard wrote: > Thanks to Stural Holm Hansen and Steve Kemp for answering my post. > Unfortunately I my problem is still not solved. > > I first tried Steve Kemp's suggestion, because it was the simpler, > as it did not require use of a live CDROM. He warned me that the > command > "mount -n -o remount,rw /" might not work. It didn't. It returned > > EXT3-fs: Unrecognized mount option "drfaults" or missing value > mount: / not mounted already, or bad option > >I then ran "mount -n -o remount,defaults,rw /" and "mount -n -o > defaults,rw /". The first command returned the same result as above. > The second returned: > > mount: /dev/mapper/SOL-root is already mounted or / busy > mount: according to mtab, /dev/mapper/SOL-root is already > mounted on / If all else fails, you could try the following approach: Copy /etc/fstab to /tmp/fstab and fix your "drfaults" typo in there. Then patch a temporary copy of /bin/mount and libc.so to use /tmp/fstab instead of /etc/fstab. To do so, create this little script, make it executable, and run it as root: #!/bin/sh FSTAB=/tmp/fstab LIBC=/lib/libc.so.6 perl -pe "s|/etc/fstab|$FSTAB|g" $LIBC >/tmp/libc.so.6 perl -pe "s|/etc/fstab|$FSTAB|g" /bin/mount >/tmp/mount chmod +x /tmp/mount export LD_PRELOAD=/tmp/libc.so.6 /tmp/mount -n -o remount,rw / (I'm assuming you can still write in /tmp -- if not, you could of course also use some other writable location, but make sure the length of the string you then use in place of "/tmp/fstab" always is exactly 10 characters long.) Use at your own risk! Almut -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
Thanks to Stural Holm Hansen and Steve Kemp for answering my post. Unfortunately I my problem is still not solved. I first tried Steve Kemp's suggestion, because it was the simpler, as it did not require use of a live CDROM. He warned me that the command "mount -n -o remount,rw /" might not work. It didn't. It returned EXT3-fs: Unrecognized mount option "drfaults" or missing value mount: / not mounted already, or bad option I then ran "mount -n -o remount,defaults,rw /" and "mount -n -o defaults,rw /". The first command returned the same result as above. The second returned: mount: /dev/mapper/SOL-root is already mounted or / busy mount: according to mtab, /dev/mapper/SOL-root is already mounted on / So, my next step was to try Sturla Holm Hansen's suggestion: to boot from a live disk, mount somewhere my original /etc/ and then edit fstab. The only live CDROM I had was Knoppix. First I let Knoppix install itself without my intervention. It installed KDE Konqueror but did not configure the mouse; so it was useless. On the second attempt I chose the "Knoppix 2" option, which did not install the X-window-system, and left the machine in terminal mode. My next task was to mount my original root directory on hda. That Knoppix would not do. As I explained in my original post, my root directory is mounted on LVM logical volume named /dev/mapper/SOL-root. When I ran "mount -n -t ext3 -o defaults /dev/mapper/SOL-root /", the command returned "mount: special device /dev/mapper/SOL-root" does not exist. It next occurred to me to install the LVM2 package in the hopes that with it Knoppix would recognize the LVM logical volumes. However Knoppix stopped the installation, saying "Processing was halted because there were too many errors." I now know that Knoppix is useless for my purposes. Since earlier it would not even configure a standard PS-2 two button mouse, I really wonder whether Knoppix has any use. So I am back to my two original question groups, with a third one added: 1. Is there any way I can override the read-only restriction for the root directory and so amend the fstab file accordingly, or do I have to reinstall the whole OS? 2. Why the hell did the installer put the "errors=remount-ro in the options for mounting the root directory in the first place? What purpose is it supposed to serve? Would any damage be done if -- once I am able to amend the fstab file -- if I removed it entirely? 3. Will any other live installation do for me what Knoppix would not, e.g., Ubuntu? Perhaps if I had a live rescue disk made from the Debian bootcd package which would be based on my own installation, I could mount a LVM logical volume. However,I can't make one unless I install the package, and I can't install the package with essential directories read only. It would be useful if the Debian installation manual mentioned the advisability of having a live bootcd and provided instructions as to how to make one. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Regards, -- Ken Heard -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
On Sat, Jan 14, 2006 at 04:36:37PM -0500, Ken Heard wrote: > I allowed my box to get into a situation where the root directory (/), > and all the subdirectories on it -- except /boot, /home, /tmp, /usr, > /var, /media and swap -- are locked read-only. Since I cannot write to > the root directory -- or to /bin, /dev, /etc, /initrd, /lib, /opt, /sbin > and /srv -- I have very effectively rendered the box unuseable. It might not work, but maybe this will help: mount -n -o remount,rw / Steve -- Debian GNU/Linux System Administration http://www.debian-administration.org/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Most directories locked read-only: how to unlock them?
Ken Heard skrev: I allowed my box to get into a situation where the root directory (/), and all the subdirectories on it -- except /boot, /home, /tmp, /usr, /var, /media and swap -- are locked read-only. Since I cannot write to the root directory -- or to /bin, /dev, /etc, /initrd, /lib, /opt, /sbin and /srv -- I have very effectively rendered the box unuseable. I will now explain how this situation came about in the hope that some one can suggest how I can remedy this situation without having to install the entire OS, which is Sarge with the 2.6.8-2-386 kernel, all over again. When I installed the OS earlier this week, I divided the 80 gb hda into three partitions. The /dev/hda1 has 100 mb for /boot. The /dev/hda2 has 1 gb for swap. The rest of the drive, /dev/hda3, I made into a LVM physical volume. I divided this LVM physical volume into five logical volumes: root (/), /home, /tmp, /usr and /var. When as part of the initial installation I was setting these up, the installer asked me for the options to add to the /etc/fstab file. I all five cases I dutifully added "noatime", but forgot to add "defaults". When I discovered my error, I opened the fstab file to add "defaults". However, in adding it to the root (/) directory I mistyped it, entering "drfaults" instead. The next time I booted the machine, I was told that there was an error in mounting the root directory because "drfaults" was not recognized. At this point it would have been possible to edit the fstab file to correct the error but for one thing. On installation the installer gratuitously added another option to the root (/) mount line, but not to the mount lines of the other four logical partitions: "errors=remount-ro". I did not think anything of this option then, but now I wished I had, because the effect of it was to lock the root directories and all the subdirectories not mounted elsewhere as read only. I tried to find a way to amend the fstab file, but could not, because it was now read-only. I tried to dismount it, but mount would not let me do so, because the mtab file told me that it was already mounted or the directory was busy. I rebooted in recovery mode but got the same result. So, I now have the following questions: 1. Is there any way I can override the read-only for the root directory and so amend the fstab file accordingly, or do I have to reinstall the whole OS? 2. Why the hell did the installer put the "errors=remount-ro in the options for mounting the root directory in the first place? What purpose is it supposed to serve? Would any damage be done if -- once I am able to amend the fstab file -- if I removed it entirely? Regards, Boot the computer with a live-cd or rescue-cd, mount the root-partition and edit fstab... Don't know the reason for the "errors=remount-ro" option though... -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
