unknown item 'FAIL_DELAY' etc. after login or su

kulmis · 02-27-2006, 09:26 AM

When I log in or use su I get
configuration error - unknown item 'FAIL_DELAY' (notify administrator)
configuration error - unknown item 'QUOTAS_ENAB' (notify administrator)
configuration error - unknown item 'NOLOGIN_STR' (notify administrator)
configuration error - unknown item 'ENV_HZ' (notify administrator)
configuration error - unknown item 'PASS_MAX_LEN' (notify administrator)
configuration error - unknown item 'CHFN_AUTH' (notify administrator)
configuration error - unknown item 'CLOSE_SESSIONS' (notify administrator)

Before this started to occur I did apt-get upgrade.

Google finds a couple of cases of this same problem but I couldn't find any solution. Does anybody know why this is happening and how it could be fixed?
I'm running unstable with 2.6.15 kernel.

ahsiii · 02-28-2006, 05:53 PM

I don't recomend doing apt-get upgrade, it will change the dynamics of every package on your system(or almost all) What is your distro: debian, mepis, ubuntu, ?

kulmis · 02-28-2006, 06:21 PM

After some heavy digging I found a solution from Debian bug report logs.
Thanks for the answer anyways.

P.S.
Here's the solution if someone should need it:
The problem is caused by upgrading package login.
apt-get for some reason doesn't remove FAIL_DELAY etc. from /etc/login.defs eventhough they are not needed anymore (and may not exist in that file). If you manually comment out those lines, everything should work.

SlithyTove · 03-05-2006, 11:25 PM

Thanks, Kulmis!

I just ran into that problem after an upgrade tonight, but commenting out FAIL_DELAY fixes it.

nixer4me · 03-11-2006, 06:02 PM

Thanks, that did it.

Keithj · 07-22-2006, 12:12 PM

THANKS! I just had a major Debian crash, and used apt-get upgrade in sheer desperation. Same list of messages, same fix!

I still can't get the GUI to start - boot-up ends with Login: - but I'm off to Google some more.

louisgag · 12-30-2006, 11:31 AM

Cool solution, but is security compromised that way or a default fail_delay value is assigned?

nadamac · 06-29-2007, 03:39 AM

after upgrade or distro upgrade better look at /etc/login.defs.dpkg-dist http://linuxquestions.cachefly.net/i...ilies/read.gif
some of the above settings are moved to /etc/pam.d/
ENV_HZ
PASS_MAX_LEN
CHFN_AUTH
and these are obsoleted
CLOSE_SESSIONS