AWS 95 or A/UX: "/etc/macgetty" Is Not Executable

What should I look for if I reboot an AWS 95 or A/UX system and get the following message, "/etc/macgetty is not executable; launching getty instead."
This error means that A/UX is not able to give you a Macintosh screen display. It is caused by a permissions problem that is preventing macgetty from running on startup. To determine the cause of the problem follow the steps outlined below.

1. The command:

ls -l /etc/macgetty

Should display the following line of information:

-rwxr-x--- root sys (the permissions for owner and group)

If the permissions for macgetty are not set as shown above, use the following A/UX commands to set them correctly:

chmod 750 /etc/macgetty (will change the permissions)

chown root /etc/macgetty (will change the ownership)

chgrp sys /etc/macgetty (will change the group)

2. If you notice in Step 1 above that both owner and group are set to root, issue the command

ls -l /etc

This command will give you a listing of the permissions for all the files in the /etc directory. If you notice that every file is set with root ownership and root group-ship, it is probably time to reinstall the core A/UX. The only way to tell how many files and directories are messed up is to mount the installation CD and check all the files against those on the CD. This problem is often the vestige of someone having changed permissions on a folder from the File menu's "UNIX Permissions ..." choice and having checked the "Make all currently enclosed directories..." option.

3. If the file permissions seem to be set correctly, try the command:

su sys

This will set you to be the super user. If that fails with a line like "can't execute /bin/sh", issue the commands:

cd /

ls -la

Verify that the entries for "/etc" and ".." ( which is "/" itself) are set to:

drwxrwxr-x bin sys for /etc

drwxr-xr-x root root for ..

As long as they are listed as "d" for directory, you can use the commands:

chmod 775 /etc
chown bin /etc
chgrp sys /etc

This will set /etc to the correct permissions. Then use the commands:

chmod 755 /

chown root /

chgrp root /

This will set the "/" directory to the correct permissions.

4. If permissions for /etc and "/" seem to be correct, check /bin/su and /bin/sh. The directory listings for these files should be as follows:

-rwsr-xr-x 1 root root 56652 Mar 24 1993 /bin/su

-rwxr-xr-x 2 bin bin 40068 Mar 24 1993 /bin/sh

You can now log out and reboot A/UX. A/UX should start normally.

Published Date: Feb 19, 2012