Mark A. Taff wrote:
On Tuesday 13 December 2005 15:14, B Stia wrote:
...<snip some>...... So since the "repair system" from the install directory didn't work, I then tried "rescue" but couldn't figure out the commands after the "rescue" prompt.. Even brought up "Vi", but couldn't access anything with it. I have all kinds of notes and procedures on how to do this kind of stuff in my e-mail archives but of course I cannont access it.
Running 9.2 with Amd 64. Really don't want to reinstall.
Somebody Please? help me get my system back?
Bob S.
Hello Mark, thanks for replying.
I would try the repair system again, and see if the partition tool (`parted` behind the scenes) can recover the partition you originally deleted. This is sometimes possible, though I am not sure in what cases it will work.
Couldn't call up parted. Is it in the installed system or only on the boot DVD? Don't think I need that anyway. Is fstab controling? If it is, I think that I only need to edit fstab and all will be well again
Failing that, you could try the automatic repair test/options. It will check all your packages, and help restore your software at least (with a new /var, if required), to a pristine condition. You would then have to redo any software upgrades/patches since 9.2. This would be relatively easy if you use apt4suse.
I did that originally and it offered to repair my file system, which I accepted. It then attempted to rebuild my system packages and failed. Then told me I had to restore from a backup........I then tried the repair option again and it failed with a message that it could'nt find the system packages. Now, the system will boot into SuSE but will drop back to a command prompt. I can log in as root and cd into any of my directories, including /var and then -ls to see what is in there. All OK. But when I cat etc/fstab the /var line is not there. The old directory /partition which I deleted remains in that file. Sooo, I am pretty sure (hopefully) that if I can edit fstab I can make it OK again.
Instead of vi, try `pico`. _If_ you have it installed (usually not a default), it is a _far_ easier and more intuitive console text editor that vi or emacs. It has nowhere near the features, but it is perfect to small jobs like quick edits and short scripts.
Don't have pico. Guess it is not installed. Tried again tonight to make vi (vim actually) work. No go. Could not even pull up the help manual with F1. So, here I am. Think I know what to do but cannot.
From a shell, `parted` is the tool you need for partitioning. As I'm sure you now realize, never mess with your partition table unless you are prepared (willing and have backups of your data) to reinstall the OS.
Oh yes, I realize that. Thought I knew what I was doing but screwed up anyway. Bob S. PS going to start a new thread for trying to make vi (vim) work for me.