Computer very unreactive after /bin/sh
 

Hi!

I wanted to change to the bash shell, but I didn't think and I was in a hurry, and then I typed /bin/sh instead of /bin/bash, and now my computer doesn't do anything. I can't move the mouse or get any response. Well, I think this is what caused the unreactiveness. I do have a lot of applications open, but the computer should be able to handle it.

To make matters worse I was logged in as root because I wanted to change file permissions, and I have a CD in the CD/DVD drive and a flashdisk connected.
I do have the Fedora install DVD and with a different problem I have done the "Rescue installed system" option or something like that a few months ago, but I don't know whether I can just eject the CD, if documents on the CD were open when this "hanging" took place?

I could also ssh from another computer, but I do not know what I should do then. Should I try and reboot the "hanging" computer? I've never had this type of thing before.

Please advise me. I'm rather lost and slightly worried...

Thanks!

BTW, the computer from which I'm typing this, doesn't have a functional mouse, so I would just like to thank whoever who did the "tab-functionality" on this website. It's works well, and I am ever so grateful!

SSHing into the box would sure get you good. If you can login try to do a ps aux | grep '/bin/sh' note down the pid umber and kill the process.
kill -s 9 pidnumber should do the trick.

Where you could run in trouble if you just reboot the machine is with your flashdisk. If you'd been working with it shortly before the "accident" there probably be some datalost if you just unplug it.
What you can try if you can ssh into the box is to umount it. Do a sync before it, just to make sure everything got written to it.

In the case you can't ssh in you can try to just once hit the power button maybe ACPI come to rescue and bring down the machine in a normal way. That could also be done from the ssh shell with shutdown -t now. That would just be the last resort if sshin or killing the process would not work.

Solved
 

Hi !

I didn't manage to ssh into the machine.
Well, I tried pressing the power-button, but it didn't work, so I pressed the reboot button, and all seems well.

Thank you very much!

Glad to be of any help.

Cheers Zhjim