One of our Linux boxes will no longer allow a login. On re-boot it gives the normal login prompt, when you type in a user name and hit enter, the cuser will just sit there blinking. I can re-boot in linux single at the LILO, and I can access the box through a remote term emmulator and login just fine. ?? How can I fix this?

Thanks for any help.
Rick

What error do you get in syslog after the failed login? Did you change anything (or install anything) right before it stopped working? Also, are there any signs of a break-in attempt?

I don't get an error, the login doesn't fail, just never completes. Type a user name, hit return/enter and the prompt for the password never appears. Nothing, just a blinking cuser. This only happens on the box itself, not remote term logins or when booting in single user mode.

I assume that you mean you can telnet to the system and login. This would indicate that your login program is working correctly and possibly there is a problem with information between mingetty and the login program. This leads me to believe the problem is with mingetty. Therefore try the following.

Edit your /etc/inittab file. You should see some lines like:
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

modify the line for tty3 to:
3:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty tty3

Save and reboot. After you've booted again and are ready to login, type ALT-F3 and try logging in on that terminal. It won't operate completely correctly after login, but should allow a normal login. If it works, your mingetty program is the problem. If not, there may be a problem with login itself or an interprocess communications mechanism.

Thanks, I'll try tonight after the users go home.