Re: rh6 fresh install boot failure - fixed

[Michal Jaegermann <michal ellpspace math ualberta ca>]

Jeff DeMaagd wrote:
>
> If you don't set up the network, you don't have a say in naming the
> system.  I know it is in a file in /etc/ but a beginner would not.

If you do not set up your networking, even if only with loopback and
dummy interfaces, then your X-windows will have assorted problems.
Unix/Linux computers simply expect to have some networking up even
if this is a lone machine.

SuSE distribution tries to be helpful in that to newbies by silently
and automatically bringing up "dummy" interface during an installation.
As a result later various smb protocol related lists and newsgroups
are full of wailings "my Samba does not work".  Turns out that all SMB
broadcast packets end up on dummy and things are not happy.  Also various
"dial-on-demand" schemes have troubles.  One way or another you
have to look at this manual at some moment, I am afraid.  There are
so many variations in a setup that it is really hard to predict them
all and somebody is going to loose.  Maybe some AI project one day?
I am really serious here.

> I am trying to untar an archive I set up before wiping my 5.1 install.
> tar is about as slow as tar, mixed with molasses, with a gravel aggregate,
> sliding down a one degree incline. I still haven't figured out why.

I can guess the most likely reason.  You did not bother to configure your
/etc/nsswitch.conf to reflect reality.  This is an example where Red Hat
**tried** to be helpful and they put NIS entries in because you may run
on NIS setup.  Maybe they figured that it easier to edit these entries
out than add them without looking at docs or maybe _they_ simply have NIS
and copied standard config file?  As a result tar attempts to check first
ownership of an every item in an archive with your NIS server.  If the
later does not exist then responses have to timeout and you see what
you see.  This was not happening with older glibc versions; most likely
a bug in these versions which was to your advantage on a particular setup.

If you do not edit your /etc/nsswitch.conf then you will see similar
effects in many other places.

  Michal