Lost /etc/passwd, now UID/GID are different from before. Is this OK?

gian2oo1 · 07-05-2006, 07:39 PM

Hello. I lost the /etc/passwd file. I copied over a passwd file from a similair setup server and added some more users from looking at the /etc/shadow file. Is it going to be a problem if the UID/GID numbers are different from before the data loss?

Thanks for any help,
Gian

leonscape · 07-05-2006, 07:44 PM

Yes... The ids are the numbers stored with the files, so if the original user bob had an id of 1000 and now has 1001 he won't get owner permissions on his files, but Alice was 1001 so now bob own all her files instead.

gian2oo1 · 07-05-2006, 09:01 PM

I see. I believe the important users were created during install (root, nobody, mysql, sshd, etc.) and from looking at a few of my server's /etc/passwd file, they all have the same UID/GID, maybe because there were created in sequence. Maybe I should copy over my current /etc/passwd to a fresh install as the server in question is a dedicated server in a remote location. I'd hate to lose connection and be stuck.