Using /bin/csh for root login on SCO Unix causes improper boot--why?

Bruce M. Himebaugh bruce at bmhalh.UUCP
Tue Sep 25 12:36:08 AEST 1990


At work we have a 386 system (used for accounting) running SCO Unix.  I
changed the shell for root (in the /etc/passwd file), from '/bin/sh' to
'/bin/csh'.  Boy did this cause problems.  Everything works fine, until you
reboot the system.  While the system is coming up (e.g. starting cron, print
services, etc.) is starts display the /etc/motd (i.e. message of the day) file.
After the system finally comes up, if you look at the /etc/systemid file it
contains the contents of the /etc/motd file prepended to what was originally in
the /etc/systemid file, that is the /etc/motd file is in the /etc/systemid file
with the original value of the /etc/systemid file at the bottom.  Also, the
/etc/mnttab table is totally trashed, containing a lot of garbage that commands
like 'df' puke on.

On other Unix systems I have found that a lot of times the scripts in /etc that
are executed upon boot, don't contain the ":" or "!/bin/sh" at the top of them,
which tells them to execute using the Bourne shell; therefore, if they are
executed using the C-shell they crash.  I looked through quite a few of them
on the SCO Unix system, but they appeared to be okay.

Has anyone else experienced this problem or know why it happens?  Is there just
a badly formed script that I overlooked or what?

Your help is appreciated!!!

Bruce
-- 
Bruce M. Himebaugh                                          Voice: 216-484-3528
   PATHS: uunet!{ncoast,aablue}!fmsystm!bmhalh!bruce
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  *NOTE*: Please do not use bruce at bmhalh.UUCP -- I'm not registered yet.



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