Changed /etc's permissions on Guix 0.14.0 (GNU/Linux); now unable to login
I have a laptop (Asus X553MA) running purely GNU Guix System 0.14.0.
I naively changed the permissions of /etc by executing:
sudo chmod -R ugo+rw /etc
-then tried to 'correct' the mistake with something like:
chmod -R 644 /etc
(Obviously I am a complete novice and did not understand the importance of permissions within the GNU/Linux framework...)
As a consequence, user login now fails completely, stating "Failed to execute login command", and then returns me to the login screen.
From there, pressing ctrl+alt+f2 allows me to access some kind of terminal/shell, but upon user "login", I'm simply regarded as:
I have no name!@laptop
Still, I then tried using sudo (/su) and chmod to see if I could alter /etc's permissions to some kind of workable state, but unfortunately sudo (/su) cannot even function, among other commands, as they are not even recognized without correct access to some file(s) within /etc, presumably:
I have no name!@laptop ~$ sudo
-bash: sudo: command not found
So, my questions:
Is there a way to get
sudoworking, given improper permissions for
/etc?Is there a clever way to get /etc to a state where I can at least
login?Is it possible to boot from a flash-drive and edit /etc's permissions?
I realize I've done a terrible thing and will likely have to reinstall all my packages/programs individually to fix this. However, I need basic access to my computer first.
-Thank you so much for any help!
linux permissions gnu
asked Feb 16 at 22:53
GhostsonAcidGhostsonAcid
82
add a comment |
I have a laptop (Asus X553MA) running purely GNU Guix System 0.14.0.
I naively changed the permissions of /etc by executing:
sudo chmod -R ugo+rw /etc
-then tried to 'correct' the mistake with something like:
chmod -R 644 /etc
(Obviously I am a complete novice and did not understand the importance of permissions within the GNU/Linux framework...)
As a consequence, user login now fails completely, stating "Failed to execute login command", and then returns me to the login screen.
From there, pressing ctrl+alt+f2 allows me to access some kind of terminal/shell, but upon user "login", I'm simply regarded as:
I have no name!@laptop
Still, I then tried using sudo (/su) and chmod to see if I could alter /etc's permissions to some kind of workable state, but unfortunately sudo (/su) cannot even function, among other commands, as they are not even recognized without correct access to some file(s) within /etc, presumably:
I have no name!@laptop ~$ sudo
-bash: sudo: command not found
So, my questions:
Is there a way to get
sudoworking, given improper permissions for
/etc?Is there a clever way to get /etc to a state where I can at least
login?Is it possible to boot from a flash-drive and edit /etc's permissions?
I realize I've done a terrible thing and will likely have to reinstall all my packages/programs individually to fix this. However, I need basic access to my computer first.
-Thank you so much for any help!
linux permissions gnu
asked Feb 16 at 22:53
GhostsonAcidGhostsonAcid
82
add a comment |
I have a laptop (Asus X553MA) running purely GNU Guix System 0.14.0.
I naively changed the permissions of /etc by executing:
sudo chmod -R ugo+rw /etc
-then tried to 'correct' the mistake with something like:
chmod -R 644 /etc
(Obviously I am a complete novice and did not understand the importance of permissions within the GNU/Linux framework...)
As a consequence, user login now fails completely, stating "Failed to execute login command", and then returns me to the login screen.
From there, pressing ctrl+alt+f2 allows me to access some kind of terminal/shell, but upon user "login", I'm simply regarded as:
I have no name!@laptop
Still, I then tried using sudo (/su) and chmod to see if I could alter /etc's permissions to some kind of workable state, but unfortunately sudo (/su) cannot even function, among other commands, as they are not even recognized without correct access to some file(s) within /etc, presumably:
I have no name!@laptop ~$ sudo
-bash: sudo: command not found
So, my questions:
Is there a way to get
sudoworking, given improper permissions for
/etc?Is there a clever way to get /etc to a state where I can at least
login?Is it possible to boot from a flash-drive and edit /etc's permissions?
I realize I've done a terrible thing and will likely have to reinstall all my packages/programs individually to fix this. However, I need basic access to my computer first.
-Thank you so much for any help!
linux permissions gnu
asked Feb 16 at 22:53
GhostsonAcidGhostsonAcid
82
I have a laptop (Asus X553MA) running purely GNU Guix System 0.14.0.
I naively changed the permissions of /etc by executing:
sudo chmod -R ugo+rw /etc
-then tried to 'correct' the mistake with something like:
chmod -R 644 /etc
(Obviously I am a complete novice and did not understand the importance of permissions within the GNU/Linux framework...)
As a consequence, user login now fails completely, stating "Failed to execute login command", and then returns me to the login screen.
From there, pressing ctrl+alt+f2 allows me to access some kind of terminal/shell, but upon user "login", I'm simply regarded as:
I have no name!@laptop
Still, I then tried using sudo (/su) and chmod to see if I could alter /etc's permissions to some kind of workable state, but unfortunately sudo (/su) cannot even function, among other commands, as they are not even recognized without correct access to some file(s) within /etc, presumably:
I have no name!@laptop ~$ sudo
-bash: sudo: command not found
So, my questions:
Is there a way to get
sudoworking, given improper permissions for
/etc?Is there a clever way to get /etc to a state where I can at least
login?Is it possible to boot from a flash-drive and edit /etc's permissions?
I realize I've done a terrible thing and will likely have to reinstall all my packages/programs individually to fix this. However, I need basic access to my computer first.
-Thank you so much for any help!
linux permissions gnu
linux permissions gnu
asked Feb 16 at 22:53
GhostsonAcidGhostsonAcid
82
asked Feb 16 at 22:53
GhostsonAcidGhostsonAcid
82
asked Feb 16 at 22:53
GhostsonAcidGhostsonAcid
82
asked Feb 16 at 22:53
GhostsonAcidGhostsonAcid
82
asked Feb 16 at 22:53
GhostsonAcidGhostsonAcid
82
82
add a comment |
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Uggh.
I see you are a novice, so I will post some high level solutions here. Pick one that makes sense to you. Feel free to ask for more details.
- Reload the operating system.
- Use grub/bootloader to boot in single user mode. You will need the root or grub password for this.
- Try to login as root. sudo/su won't work. Do you have the root (admin) password?
- Boot from your CD/DVD. Mount your hard drive under /mnt and change the permissions back (see the /etc permissions on the CD when you boot up), then reboot.
- Ctrl+Alt+F2 might work, if you login as root.
edited Feb 17 at 7:32
Xen2050
11.3k31637
answered Feb 17 at 5:14
Scottie HScottie H
715
Thanks, @Xen2050. Still working on my editing skills!
– Scottie H
Feb 17 at 19:39
1
Method 3 worked like a charm! -Simple and easy. I did in fact know root's password. After logging-in to an Xfce desktop environment, I was able to open a terminal and executesudo chmod -R 777 /etc. -Helped immediately, -at least in the sense that I now have access to my regular user account. (~Thank you!) I will now have to update/reinstall all kinds of software... -_-
– GhostsonAcid
Feb 17 at 20:38
add a comment |
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "3"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fsuperuser.com%2fquestions%2f1406591%2fchanged-etcs-permissions-on-guix-0-14-0-gnu-linux-now-unable-to-login%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Uggh.
I see you are a novice, so I will post some high level solutions here. Pick one that makes sense to you. Feel free to ask for more details.
- Reload the operating system.
- Use grub/bootloader to boot in single user mode. You will need the root or grub password for this.
- Try to login as root. sudo/su won't work. Do you have the root (admin) password?
- Boot from your CD/DVD. Mount your hard drive under /mnt and change the permissions back (see the /etc permissions on the CD when you boot up), then reboot.
- Ctrl+Alt+F2 might work, if you login as root.
edited Feb 17 at 7:32
Xen2050
11.3k31637
answered Feb 17 at 5:14
Scottie HScottie H
715
Thanks, @Xen2050. Still working on my editing skills!
– Scottie H
Feb 17 at 19:39
1
Method 3 worked like a charm! -Simple and easy. I did in fact know root's password. After logging-in to an Xfce desktop environment, I was able to open a terminal and executesudo chmod -R 777 /etc. -Helped immediately, -at least in the sense that I now have access to my regular user account. (~Thank you!) I will now have to update/reinstall all kinds of software... -_-
– GhostsonAcid
Feb 17 at 20:38
add a comment |
Uggh.
I see you are a novice, so I will post some high level solutions here. Pick one that makes sense to you. Feel free to ask for more details.
- Reload the operating system.
- Use grub/bootloader to boot in single user mode. You will need the root or grub password for this.
- Try to login as root. sudo/su won't work. Do you have the root (admin) password?
- Boot from your CD/DVD. Mount your hard drive under /mnt and change the permissions back (see the /etc permissions on the CD when you boot up), then reboot.
- Ctrl+Alt+F2 might work, if you login as root.
edited Feb 17 at 7:32
Xen2050
11.3k31637
answered Feb 17 at 5:14
Scottie HScottie H
715
Thanks, @Xen2050. Still working on my editing skills!
– Scottie H
Feb 17 at 19:39
1
Method 3 worked like a charm! -Simple and easy. I did in fact know root's password. After logging-in to an Xfce desktop environment, I was able to open a terminal and executesudo chmod -R 777 /etc. -Helped immediately, -at least in the sense that I now have access to my regular user account. (~Thank you!) I will now have to update/reinstall all kinds of software... -_-
– GhostsonAcid
Feb 17 at 20:38
add a comment |
Uggh.
I see you are a novice, so I will post some high level solutions here. Pick one that makes sense to you. Feel free to ask for more details.
- Reload the operating system.
- Use grub/bootloader to boot in single user mode. You will need the root or grub password for this.
- Try to login as root. sudo/su won't work. Do you have the root (admin) password?
- Boot from your CD/DVD. Mount your hard drive under /mnt and change the permissions back (see the /etc permissions on the CD when you boot up), then reboot.
- Ctrl+Alt+F2 might work, if you login as root.
edited Feb 17 at 7:32
Xen2050
11.3k31637
answered Feb 17 at 5:14
Scottie HScottie H
715
Uggh.
I see you are a novice, so I will post some high level solutions here. Pick one that makes sense to you. Feel free to ask for more details.
- Reload the operating system.
- Use grub/bootloader to boot in single user mode. You will need the root or grub password for this.
- Try to login as root. sudo/su won't work. Do you have the root (admin) password?
- Boot from your CD/DVD. Mount your hard drive under /mnt and change the permissions back (see the /etc permissions on the CD when you boot up), then reboot.
- Ctrl+Alt+F2 might work, if you login as root.
edited Feb 17 at 7:32
Xen2050
11.3k31637
answered Feb 17 at 5:14
Scottie HScottie H
715
edited Feb 17 at 7:32
Xen2050
11.3k31637
edited Feb 17 at 7:32
Xen2050
11.3k31637
edited Feb 17 at 7:32
Xen2050
11.3k31637
11.3k31637
answered Feb 17 at 5:14
Scottie HScottie H
715
answered Feb 17 at 5:14
Scottie HScottie H
715
answered Feb 17 at 5:14
Scottie HScottie H
715
715
Thanks, @Xen2050. Still working on my editing skills!
– Scottie H
Feb 17 at 19:39
1
Method 3 worked like a charm! -Simple and easy. I did in fact know root's password. After logging-in to an Xfce desktop environment, I was able to open a terminal and executesudo chmod -R 777 /etc. -Helped immediately, -at least in the sense that I now have access to my regular user account. (~Thank you!) I will now have to update/reinstall all kinds of software... -_-
– GhostsonAcid
Feb 17 at 20:38
add a comment |
Thanks, @Xen2050. Still working on my editing skills!
– Scottie H
Feb 17 at 19:39
1
Method 3 worked like a charm! -Simple and easy. I did in fact know root's password. After logging-in to an Xfce desktop environment, I was able to open a terminal and executesudo chmod -R 777 /etc. -Helped immediately, -at least in the sense that I now have access to my regular user account. (~Thank you!) I will now have to update/reinstall all kinds of software... -_-
– GhostsonAcid
Feb 17 at 20:38
Thanks, @Xen2050. Still working on my editing skills!
– Scottie H
Feb 17 at 19:39
Thanks, @Xen2050. Still working on my editing skills!
– Scottie H
Feb 17 at 19:39
1
1
Method 3 worked like a charm! -Simple and easy. I did in fact know root's password. After logging-in to an Xfce desktop environment, I was able to open a terminal and execute
sudo chmod -R 777 /etc. -Helped immediately, -at least in the sense that I now have access to my regular user account. (~Thank you!) I will now have to update/reinstall all kinds of software... -_-– GhostsonAcid
Feb 17 at 20:38
Method 3 worked like a charm! -Simple and easy. I did in fact know root's password. After logging-in to an Xfce desktop environment, I was able to open a terminal and execute
sudo chmod -R 777 /etc. -Helped immediately, -at least in the sense that I now have access to my regular user account. (~Thank you!) I will now have to update/reinstall all kinds of software... -_-– GhostsonAcid
Feb 17 at 20:38
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Super User!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fsuperuser.com%2fquestions%2f1406591%2fchanged-etcs-permissions-on-guix-0-14-0-gnu-linux-now-unable-to-login%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
