/etc/profile does not exist

adam-red · 12-30-2006, 03:13 PM

I installed the ATI drivers on my Edgy installation following a guide I'd used before. When I try logging in now though it says that it can't find /etc/profile. On the plus side the ATI thing worked. I can login to Gnome in Failsafe mode, but is there a way to rebuild my profile?

Thanks
Adam

stress_junkie · 12-30-2006, 09:20 PM

You could boot a live CD and copy the one on the running system to your hard disk.

Or you could restore from your backups. (I couldn't resist.)

FnordPerfect · 12-30-2006, 10:16 PM

The file /etc/profile and your personal counterpart ~/.bash_profile are executed by a shell (e.g. bash) when it is started in login mode.

It is not essential for a working system, when you are a GUI-only type of user.

It's a plain shell script which sets up some environmental variables and settings, e.g. configuring the prompt you see in a terminal window (user@host:/$ _).

Just recreate it with a text editor.

Or copy it from ~/.bash_profile (if it's there)

Or copy an example profile from /usr/share/doc/bash/examples/startup-files/Bash_profile to /etc/profile
(dunno. assuming it is there on a Ubuntu-system)

Or use mine :-) (I have never altered it):

Code:

# /etc/profile: system-wide .profile file for the Bourne shell (sh(1))
# and Bourne compatible shells (bash(1), ksh(1), ash(1), ...).

PATH="/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/games:/usr/sbin"

if [ "$PS1" ]; then
  if [ "$BASH" ]; then
    PS1='\u@\h:\w\$ '
  else
    if [ "`id -u`" -eq 0 ]; then
      PS1='# '
    else
      PS1='$ '
    fi
  fi
fi

export PATH

umask 022

There is more than one way to do it.

cheers
fabian

adam-red · 12-31-2006, 06:53 AM

Thanks Fabian