I'm screwed - can't login

[akonstam at trinity.edu]

On Mon, Aug 08, 2005 at 09:37:06AM -0700, Rick Stevens wrote:
> David G. Miller (aka DaveAtFraud) wrote:
> >ndbecker2 at gmail.com wrote:
> >
> >>My server has been running FC4 with all updates.  After my son just
> >>accidentally unplugged it, it rebooted so that noone can login.  If 
> >>booted
> >>in text (mode 3), then after the login and password it just returns to
> >>login prompt.
> >>
> >>It can't be booted in single user mode.  When this is tried, it says 
> >>"going
> >>into single user mode", but then starts all the same services as mode 
> >>3
> >>(AFAICT) and acts just the same.
> >>
> >>I booted into rescue mode, did chroot /mnt/sysimage, and looked
> >>at /var/log/messages and /var/log/secure.  Nothing intersting shown.
> >>
> >>I can't ssh in.  It just logs in and out immediately.
> >>
> >>Perhaps related, I had selected to disable selinux IIRC and it said 
> >>it would
> >>relabel on next boot.  Of course, it crashed before that happened.
> >>
Just last week we had a power outage because electiocal work being
done. I don't know how many times I have unplugged a running
system. The chances that your system is destroyed is minimal.

The esperince of logginf in and having the machine immediately
logging off is a classic symptom of an file error in oone of the
files needed to be processed on login. A secret not advertised
which might still be true in Fedora is there is at least one boot
state below run state 1 that is the single state, I just tested it
and it still works. It might allow you to do things that you are
not able to do in init state 1.

In any case using the rescue disk and creating a news account will
probably allow you to boot into that account. The other
suggestions made to you are also good ones. Change the root passwd
and onec you can boot as root things can be fixed.-- 

=======================================================================
I didn't believe in reincarnation in any of my other lives.  I don't see why
I should have to believe in it in this one.
		-- Strange de Jim
-------------------------------------------
Aaron Konstam
Computer Science
Trinity University
telephone: (210)-999-7484