LinuxQuestions.org - Messing about with permissions, won't turn on.

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- - Messing about with permissions, won't turn on. (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-general-1/messing-about-with-permissions-wont-turn-on-764991/)

Quote:

How do I run fschk?

from the live cd
fschk /dev/sda
or whatever the drive is named in the live cd

In general if you use
CTRL_ALT_F1 (press them at the same time)
it should drop you to a shell, when X doesn't start.

Quote:

"...does not describe a correct ext2 filesystem..."

What command did you use, and from where?

"fsck /dev/sda2"

Should it have been fschk? Stupid Google...

~Callum

The following directories claim to be unreadable:

/bin
/lost+found
/home/test - the user I was switching to (already logged in)
/root - the user I was switching from
/var/gdm
/etc/audisp
/etc/audit

/boot is empty
/sys is empty
/srv is empty
/media is empty (but it is not)

That was from just a quick scan

~Callum

Seems to me the file system is severely damaged.
Perhaps someone else knows a solution for this, aside from reinstalling (reformat)

That's not good.

I think I will just go for the reinstall. It is possible to backup the list of applications without actually turning the computer on?

I know about backing up the /home directory, so that should be fine.

~Callum

You can run

Code:

dpkg --get-selections > installed.txt

However you need to do this from the original computer.

You should be able to use

Code:

CTRL_ALT_F1 or F2

to get a commandprompt though

You could do a

Code:

dpkg -l

and safe the output to a file. That would give you a list of installed packages. When the reinstall is done you can just

Code:

for i in $(cat ./save_file) | apt-get install $i

And you should have all the packages back.

Quote:

bash: dpkg: command not found

I can't turn the original computer on though.

~Callum

Quote:

Originally Posted by callumacrae (Post 3735252)

Have you tried booting from a live disk, executing sudo bash in a terminal window to get a root shell, and running ls -ld /bin (and other folders), to check the permissions on the folder itself (rather than the files inside it?

If the permissions on /bin are something like:

Code:

drwxr-x--- 2 root root 4096 Apr 17 2009 /bin

... then no user other than root (and members of group root) will be able to see the files in there, or traverse the directory), whatever the permissions on the files it contains.

If this is the case, run:

Code:

chmod o+rx /bin # then repeat for the other directories

... to restore read and traverse access for "other". These permsissions should be right for /bin - other directories might be different, but on the distro I'm currently using (Centos 5.3), the permissions on the directories in / look like this:

Code:

[rh@xxxx ~]$ ls -ld /*

drwxr-xr-x    2 root root  4096 Apr 17  2009 /bin

drwxr-xr-x    4 root root  1024 Apr 16  2009 /boot

drwxr-xr-x  11 root root  3640 Apr 16  2009 /dev

drwxr-xr-x  85 root root 12288 Oct 27 04:04 /etc

drwxr-xr-x  115 root root  4096 Oct 13 12:19 /home

drwxr-xr-x  10 root root  4096 Apr 17  2009 /lib

drwxr-xr-x    7 root root  4096 May 18 17:04 /lib64

drwx------    2 root root 16384 Nov  5  2008 /lost+found

drwxr-xr-x    2 root root  4096 Mar 11  2009 /media

drwxr-xr-x    2 root root  4096 Jan 21  2009 /misc

drwxr-xr-x    3 root root  4096 Apr 16  2009 /mnt

drwxr-xr-x    2 root root  4096 Mar 11  2009 /opt

dr-xr-xr-x  453 root root    0 Apr 16  2009 /proc

drwxr-x---    5 root root  4096 Oct 13 12:19 /root

drwxr-xr-x    2 root root 12288 Apr 17  2009 /sbin

drwxr-xr-x    2 root root  4096 Mar 11  2009 /selinux

drwxr-xr-x    2 root root  4096 Mar 11  2009 /srv

drwxr-xr-x  11 root root    0 Apr 16  2009 /sys

drwxrwxrwt    6 root root  4096 Oct 28 13:28 /tmp

drwxr-xr-x  15 root root  4096 Apr 16  2009 /usr

drwxr-xr-x  21 root root  4096 Apr 16  2009 /var

Quote:

I can't turn the original computer on though.

why not ?

Quote:

and now it won't turn on. When I try to turn it on it displays the Fedora loading thing and loads. When it get to the bit where the mouse displays on screen it goes to a black screen and then back to the mouse, and back to black etc.

so it boots, no?

did you try to use
CTRL_ALT_F1 to get a command prompt ?

Ctrl Alt F1 doesn't work, it doesn't boot that far.

I'm currently booting up all my stuff. I think I installed too many virtual machines...

~Callum

Given you've got Fedora, you can

1. boot from the install DVD; at the initial text prompt type

linux rescue

which boots from the DVD, then attempts to mount the HDD as a non-active disk.

2. Try this http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/reset-...ermission.html

Too late, I've started again :)

Can't get virtualbox working now :@

~Callum