[SOLVED] Ran rm -rf on Home Directory unable to run commands as Root

Nathan Spencer · 06-13-2010, 01:13 AM

Accidently ran rm -rf while the pwd was /home/user-name

Now I'm unable to run any command whatsoever as root, ls,vi,cnf whatever, they don't work.

However the commands work as normal user.

I can guess that the files with root ownership in the home folder were deleted but I would like to revert everything back to normal and would like to know how to solve this problem.

acid_kewpie · 06-13-2010, 01:43 AM

well the two things don't make any sense as directly related issues, deleting a norml users home directory can not affect root, unless your system is already horrendously ill. You also havne't said anything about how they don't work... error messages etc. The only thing I can directly think of is your PATH statement somehow not existing, which still doesn't match your actions in the slightest.

Nathan Spencer · 06-13-2010, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acid_kewpie

well the two things don't make any sense as directly related issues, deleting a norml users home directory can not affect root, unless your system is already horrendously ill. You also havne't said anything about how they don't work... error messages etc. The only thing I can directly think of is your PATH statement somehow not existing, which still doesn't match your actions in the slightest.

Thanks for Replying.

Let me try to vividly explain what I did.
I was logged into directory : /home/user

I switched to root, typed this:

Code:

linux:/home/user# rm -rf foldername

It seems that the foldername i typed was non existent, the actual name of it was /foldername (Which Still exists btw)

Now,
Here's what I get after I run commands (As Root):
for e.g :

Code:

linux:/home/user#ls
If 'ls' is not a typo you can use command-not-found to lookup the package that contains it, like this:
    cnf ls

The above applies for all the commands, I run as root now. Ran env, it returns the same message stated above.

That's the usual message that pops up whenever something's not installed, right?

However when I run commands as normal user, they work.

And Yes, I was messing with the path statement, editing the /etc/skel/.bashrc, /home/user/.bashrc, /etc/bash.bashrc. I was just setting new paths for installing a compiler(added line :export PATH:$PATH:$DIRBIN). Nothing else. Now, I undid the changes. The problem persists.
What might be the solution?

acid_kewpie · 06-13-2010, 03:07 AM

well it does feel like a path issue, what if you run /bin/ls directly, and also run "echo $PATH" to show what you currently have.

Nathan Spencer · 06-13-2010, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acid_kewpie

well it does feel like a path issue, what if you run /bin/ls directly, and also run "echo $PATH" to show what you currently have.

As Root, echo $PATH gives:

Code:

linux:/home/user # echo $PATH
:
linux:/home/user #

As Root, /bin/ls lists directories and files present.

As user, echo $PATH gives:

Code:

/home/user/bin:/home/user/bin:/usr/lib64/mpi/gcc/openmpi/bin:/home/user/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/X11R6/bin:/usr/games:/opt/kde3/bin:/opt/cross/bin:/usr/lib/mit/bin:/usr/lib/mit/sbin:/home/user/go/bin:/home/user/go/bin

As user, /bin/ls lists the directories and files present.

Perhaps, the root's $PATH is messed up?

EDIT:

I have resolved the problem.
As acid_kewpie rightly pointed out, it indeed was a Path issue.

I switched to root, set path via

Code:

linux:home/user #export PATH=/home/user/bin:/home/user/bin:/usr/lib64/mpi/gcc/openmpi/bin:/home/user/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/X11R6/bin:/usr/games:/opt/kde3/bin:/opt/cross/bin:/usr/lib/mit/bin:/usr/lib/mit/sbin:/home/user/go/bin:/home/user/go/bin

and Voila, its back to normal again.

Thanks again to acid_kewpie for pointing out the root cause.