bash: /bin/cat: cannot execute binary file
 

i can't seem to view files like inittab when i'm using a terminal.for example when i enter:

cat inittab

i get :

bash: /bin/cat: cannot execute binary file

is there any program that i need to install for me to make this command work again?

Whats the output of andI expect either the permissions are set incorrectly on cat or the filesystem on which is resides is mounted with noexec.

cheers

Jamie...

ls -l /bin/cat

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 14364 Feb 19 01:19 /bin/cat

mount

/dev/hda3 on / type ext3 (rw)
none on /proc type proc (rw)
usbdevfs on /proc/bus/usb type usbdevfs (rw)
/dev/hda2 on /boot type ext3 (rw)
none on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,gid=5,mode=620)
none on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw)
/dev/hdc1 on /mnt/Winux type vfat (rw,nosuid,nodev,umask=0)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hope this helps

Uhm... What happens when you run saycheers

Jamie...

/bin/cat /etc/inittab

-bash: /bin/cat: cannot execute binary file

What happens when you Do you get the same error? The size of you cat binary looks good but there's always the chance it's corrupt or invalid somehow - what does show you?

cheers

Jamie...

more /etc/inittab

#
# inittab This file describes how the INIT process should set up
# the system in a certain run-level.
#
# Author: Miquel van Smoorenburg, <miquels@drinkel.nl.mugnet.org>
# Modified for RHS Linux by Marc Ewing and Donnie Barnes
#

# Default runlevel. The runlevels used by RHS are:
# 0 - halt (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
# 1 - Single user mode
# 2 - Multiuser, without NFS (The same as 3, if you do not have networking)
# 3 - Full multiuser mode
# 4 - unused
# 5 - X11
# 6 - reboot (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
#
id:5:initdefault:

# System initialization.
si::sysinit:/etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit

l0:0:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 0
l1:1:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 1
l2:2:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 2
l3:3:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 3
l4:4:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 4
l5:5:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 5
l6:6:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 6

# Trap CTRL-ALT-DELETE
ca::ctrlaltdel:/sbin/shutdown -t3 -r now

# When our UPS tells us power has failed, assume we have a few minutes
# of power left. Schedule a shutdown for 2 minutes from now.
# This does, of course, assume you have powerd installed and your
# UPS connected and working correctly.
pf::powerfail:/sbin/shutdown -f -h +2 "Power Failure; System Shutting Down"

# If power was restored before the shutdown kicked in, cancel it.
pr:12345:powerokwait:/sbin/shutdown -c "Power Restored; Shutdown Cancelled"


# Run gettys in standard runlevels
1:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty1
2:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty2
3:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty3
4:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty4
5:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty5
6:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty6

# Run xdm in runlevel 5
x:5:respawn:/etc/X11/prefdm -nodaemon

file /bin/cat

/bin/cat: data

Looks like your version of cat is corrupt then. What you should have seen from the "file" command wasYou'll need to get a new copy of the cat binary, although I'd be a little concerned about what damaged it in the first place.

cheers

Jamie...

tnx
do u know where i can get a new copy of the cat binar? or is it available in the RH cd ??

It'll be in one of the RPMs on the CD but I'm not sure which one off the top of my head as I'm not much of a RH guy myself. If you mail me I'll send you a copy from my RH9 box here at work if you wish.

cheers

Jamie...