Topic: Cannot access console after update

[CharlieBrady]

Can you please explain how you did the "manual boot single" and how you changed the password ?

Yes, after you create your bug reports.

[AndySabo]

okay,, trying again,, just to let you know,, I am also trying the bugzilla thing,,,

I downloaded the software again and booted off the disk into rescue mode,,, got all the way to a prompt where I can do nothing,, I tried to look in var/,,,,, whatever it was in the above post but got nowhere ,, when I type in var/ blah blah it says it is not a valid command.  So basically I can do nothing,,, I type in help and 3 or 4 screens blast by with nothing useful.  I cannot find anything about passwords and none of the things it shows work as valid commands.  I am really lost here and employees are starting to flip out on me because they have files stored on the server and it is also our print server.... so when anyone has to print something they have to email it to me so I can print it on my local printer,,,,,,,,

[thomasch]

I can do nothing.............So basically I can do nothing..

AndySabo,

You can do fix it if you let us to help you. How? File a bug report! That's how.
WE ALWAYS WANT TO HELP YOU BUT YOU NEED TO BE COLLABORATIVE.

start from here http://wiki.contribs.org/Bugzilla_Help#Bugzilla_is_easy

create your account here http://bugs.contribs.org/createaccount.cgi

and report your bug after you verify your email address.

By reporting bugs, you are helping us make SME server a better distro.

thomasch

[elmarconi]

I downloaded the software again and booted off the disk into rescue mode,,, got all the way to a prompt where I can do nothing,, I tried to look in var/,,,,, whatever it was in the above post but got nowhere ,, when I type in var/ blah blah it says it is not a valid command.  So basically I can do nothing,,, I type in help and 3 or 4 screens blast by with nothing useful. 

Please describe _exactly_ what you do... e.g.:

Code: [Select]

cd /var/log
ls
pwd
less messages
grep error messages

I cannot find anything about passwords and none of the things it shows work as valid commands.  I am really lost here and employees are starting to flip out on me because they have files stored on the server and it is also our print server.... so when anyone has to print something they have to email it to me so I can print it on my local printer,,,,,,,,

Since 9 febr.? And you are the chosen one responsible for the server?
If I were you I'd seriously consider some external consultancy.
And if I were your boss  I'd seriously consider some external consultancy too.
The cost of such a (wo)man has to be compared against a downtime of 4 weeks and reduced efficiency of the employees ...

If you are looking for a quick and cheap solution, no, there is none.
Either invest money (external consultant) or (lots of) time as your knowledge of SMEServer seems to be sort of, well, rusty...

And yes: Bugzilla is the way to go...

[SmartSteve]

Sorry Andy, I'm with the rest, you need to know at least the basics of running a (Linux) machine if you are going to be the one to look after a network. I don't claim to know everything about Linux/UNIX but I know, at the very least, my way around the system. 

If your boss is anything like mine, the instant the network goes down he is pacing and hanging around until I get it fixed, or he is already yanking cables to try to fix it himself (grr). I have 2 servers (1 x SME and 1 x Mandrake) to look after where I work and I wouldn't be doing that if I didn't at least know how to get them both up and running within a short space of time in the event of a failure. Our whole operation relies on our central file store and our customer interface.

On that topic, I can't see why your users can't see their files. From what I have experienced with this problem it is only the root/admin password that gets creamed and all the ibay and user account passwords have been intact. So...

For the next topic in the series. Do you have a backup of all of the users files? Not that I am advocating it at all but you could have run up another box, poked the files on and got going again, which buys you time to fix the problem. Which by the way is 2 mins at the most.


For the record so I don't appear to be a hypocrite on the topic of bugzilla, I have raise a few of my bug related queries even if they might turn out to be frivolous. I had regarded bugzilla as a place to report "provable" bugs and the forums as a place to find out if anyone else had experience the same issue, thus a provable bug. Eg is it my mistake or is it a genuine error.

Another thought. SME is so very easy (maybe too easy) to setup and administer that maybe this is creating a problem where people with a small amount of knowledge can set it up but then get into very deep water when something goes wrong. It is very easy when all is well but very difficult when it is not.

The mantra before embarking is "have the knowledge or know where you can get it when you need it"

My advice also Andy, is write stuff down. I have a notebook from when I started (back with RH5) of all the commands (CLI) that I have either been told or learned, and what they did.

Regards,

Steve

[AndySabo]

 

http://wiki.contribs.org/SME_Server:Documentation:FAQ#Reset_the_root_and_admin_password

and make sure you put a space before "single"

[CharlieBrady]

From what I have experienced with this problem it is only the root/admin password that gets creamed and all the ibay and user account passwords have been intact.

I've never heard of or experienced such a problem. If you have, please provide full details via the bug tracker.

[elmarconi]

http://wiki.contribs.org/SME_Server:Documentation:FAQ#Reset_the_root_and_admin_password

and make sure you put a space before "single"

Congratulations! You've been studying? 

I do not understand one thing:

I am really lost here and employees are starting to flip out on me because they have files stored on the server and it is also our print server.... so when anyone has to print something they have to email it to me so I can print it on my local printer,,,,,,,,

How is this related to the root/admin password which seemed to get lost?
Are you sure that it was the only root/admin password? If noone had access, the authentication mechanism/module/pam/whatever went berzerk.

The reboot fixed their problems also?

For the sake of forensics please scan your last logfile:

Code: [Select]

grep "authentication failure" /var/log/messages
or older logfiles

Code: [Select]

grep "authentication failure" /var/log/messages*
I've had one occasion that my Ubuntu didn't want to accept any of my password, but after a reboot it did...

[AndySabo]

okay, it's complicated.  This all happened after doing a server update.  what happened was two fold.  1 - it somehow forgot my passwords and I was unable to gain access to the server, after all the work of fixing that and getting the server running again people could still not access the server but at least I knew it was running.  I am more of a hardware guy so it did not take me long to figure out that during the softare update it also had decided that it no longer liked my nic setup.  I have 2 nic's in the box, one to the network and a second to a wireless router that I was trying to set up so we could use our laptops without plugging in,, that never did work but the server to the network side always worked fine.  Well now I had to switch the lan cable to the other network card and all is well.

[AndySabo]

SmartSteve pretty much hit the nail on the head in his post above.  I was in need of a server for my office, the MS price was amazing and their products can hardly keep the pc's running on a daily basis so I wanted something different.  So with no prior knowledge of Unix or Linux I downloaded the SME server and went to town,, and it was great till something went wrong,, then I was in way over my head,,, but I am all about learning new computer stuff and the bugzilla guys are very helpful and now all is well,,,

[mercyh]

I have 2 nic's in the box, one to the network and a second to a wireless router that I was trying to set up so we could use our laptops without plugging in,,

Off topic, but.............

Plug a cable from your wired network switch into one of the LAN ports of that router and you are good to go. (this basically makes it a wireless access point). MAKE SURE YOU TURN OFF THE DHCP SERVER IN THE ROUTER BEFORE YOU CONNECT IT TO YOUR NETWORK.