On Thursday 26 June 2003 15:31, Landy wrote:
It's a well-known problem (with no known solution), that some programs tend to trash the utmp/wtmp files (where logged-in users are registered). It happens typically if the machine crashes or is not cleanly shutdown. You should generally take a great care not to shut down the machine by doing cold-reset, which will otherwise ultimately crash your file systems. If possible, when shutting the machine down, you should first log out all users, then use the command 'shutdown' (or equivalent) as root.
wrong assumtion, i never cold shutdown my machine, in fact i hardly shut it down
Actually, I didn't assume anything at all regarding you machine usage. I rather mentioned one typical reason for corrupt wtmp files. A scenario that is equivalent in this sense to cold reset could be a program that has control over the wtmp file and crashes. The action suggested by Rohit might help you with the immediate problem. If the problem returns, consider the programs you are using, and their possible impact on the wtmp file. Perhaps you should also take a look at your shift key configuration (!). Best regards -- Ch