Messing about with permissions, won't turn on.
 

Hello,

I was messing around with permissions, and now my computer won't turn on.

I changed the permissions of the /bin, /boot & /dev directories to "Others: none". My computer promptly crashed when I switched users and now it won't turn on. When I try to turn it on it displays the Fedora loading thing and loads. When it get to the bit where the mouse displays on screen it goes to a black screen and then back to the mouse, and back to black etc.

How can I change the permissions back?

Thanks,
~Callum

Boot from a live cd, mount the drive and put the permissions back to the original.
I hope you know the original permissions though.
Note: don't mess with permissions :-)

Use a live cd
 

Hi,
How can permission problem cause trouble while botting? I thought root always have permission. And while booting everything is done as root.
Cheers
-indiajoe

probably easiest and ugliest way is to reinstall system from scratch. i hope Fedora installer have a way not to touch some files (like /home/*).

other method is to use a boot CD or DVD and use chmod chown to change them to original ways. you can find a lot of small and big boot disk on the net like knoppix, DSL (or use original Fedora CD(DVD) for it).

How can I change the permissions when I have changed the permissions so that I wouldn't be able to see it?

I don't really want to reinstall :(

~Callum

@indiajoe: That is exactly what I thought.

~Callum

Why can't you see them?
How did you changed the permissions?
unless the user "Others" and the group "none" exist, you can't change them.
Login with a live CD and give the output from
They should be root:root

After boot can you press ctrl-alt-f1 to go to a tty
and login as root ?

I changed the permission like this:

sudo nautilus

Right click on /bin -> Properties -> Permissions

Then changed "Others" to "None".

This is the same in all distros using GNOME, I believe.

Ctrl + Alt + F1 doesn't work.

Burning a live cd now.

~Callum

Okay, I can see those folders, I just don't have access. I can also view their permissions (in properties), but not change them: "You are no the owner, so you cannot change the permissions)

ls -l /bin return quite a lot, and I don't have internet on that computer.

First few lines:

I could find a memory stick from somewhere?

~Callum

Hmm. /bin is apparently unreadable. The permissions for other are set to none. But /boot permissions for other is allow access but /boot itself appears to be empty. I can view the contents of /dev as well.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

~Callum

-ignore-

Forgot to mention: I was switching users when it crashed, and I turned it off at the socket.

If the permissons are root root, it seems correct.
Try to run fschk on the drives.
Try to login in gnome in safe mode

How do I run fschk?

I can't get to the login screen.

~Callum

Sorry forgot about google.

"...does not describe a correct ext2 filesystem..."

It's ext3.

~Callum