su: cannot set groups: Operation not permitted

gda2004 · 02-26-2010, 05:14 PM

Hi there,
I am having a problem when I try to login as su.I type the command SU and then the password as normal and I get su: cannot set groups: Operation not permitted

I am not sure what could of caused this error and how to fix it could anyone help me

thanks,

gda2004

onebuck · 02-26-2010, 05:50 PM

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!

What happens when you login as a user then issue the command 'su' at the console prompt?

Quote:

excerpt from 'man su';

su - run a shell with substitute user and group IDs
SYNOPSIS
su [OPTION]... [-] [USER [ARG]...]
DESCRIPTION

Change the effective user id and group id to that of USER.

-, -l, --login
make the shell a login shell
-c, --commmand=COMMAND
pass a single COMMAND to the shell with -c
-f, --fast
pass -f to the shell (for csh or tcsh)
-m, --preserve-environment
do not reset environment variables
-p
same as -m
-s, --shell=SHELL
run SHELL if /etc/shells allows it
--help
display this help and exit
--version
output version information and exit

A mere - implies -l. If USER not given, assume root.

Just a few links to aid you to gaining some understanding;

Linux Documentation Project
Rute Tutorial & Exposition
Linux Command Guide
Utimate Linux Newbie Guide
LinuxSelfHelp
Getting Started with Linux
Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide
Linux Home Networking

The above links and others can be found at 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!

gda2004 · 02-27-2010, 05:43 PM

thanks for the reply I made a mistake by chown from root to admin on /etc/* . this caused it to happen I changed the owner back to root via disc boot and rescue, but that made no diffrence. I was able to sudo but I did not want the hassle of sorting it all out so I upgraded to 12 from 11 and it now works fine, I used my backup drives to back the data up first.

thanks for the response

gda2004