[NTLUG:Discuss] "You Don't Exist: Go Away!"

[MadHat]

MadHat wrote:
> 
> Christopher Browne wrote:
> >
> > I am having an unfortunate situation where a machine periodically gets
> > somewhat 'wedged up' such that:
> >   a) Port services that check for user IDs die;
> >   b) Permissions on files apparently "disappear";
> >   c) Pretty much anything that checks IDs against /etc/passwd gets
> >      hosed.
> >
> > This does _not_ appear to be the result of a hack; it seems moderately
> > "time based," probably relating to some resource filling up thereby
> > making {utmp|PAM} throw up.
> >
> > Other interesting facts:
> > - It seems to happen _around_ once a day.  But not greatly predictable.
> >    Oct 27, 03:38
> >    Oct 27, 21:32
> >    Oct 30, 08:02
> >    Oct 31, about 1:56am
> >    Nov 1, between 9:00 and 9:02 pm.
> >
> > - I don't need to reboot to get everything to "reset;" if I drop to
> >   runlevel 1 via "init 1," and then head back to "init 3", this seems
> >   to suffice to clear things up.
> >
> > - Debian Unstable Pretty Much Up To Date.
> >   Linux knuth 2.2.14 #5 Sat May 6 07:29:45 CDT 2000 i586 unknown
> >
> > The two things I've seen looking on Google that match the symptoms are:
> >
> > a) "Oops.  You deleted /etc/passwd."
> >
> >    Not the case.
> >
> > b) Something vague involving utmp being "somehow messed up."
> >
> > Anyone run into this sort of thing before?
> 
> kind of...  My problem was bad nodes on the drive, but it took a fsck to
> fix.  The drive was going bad and was losing data on the section of the
> disk that held the /etc.
> 
> Because an 'init 1' & 'init 3' seem to be the p[roblem, that does point
> more towards the software not hardware...  what Kernel you running?

This should have read because the init 1 and init 3 seem to _FIX_ the
problem, that doesn't pont towards hardware, but more towards software.

Need more caffeine.

-- 
MadHat at unspecific.com
                                   "The 3 great virtues of a programmer:
                                      Laziness, Impatience, and Hubris."
                                                 --Larry Wall